Blue Moon
by Eh Bien
Summary: A sequel to my previous stories, Castaway and Straight On 'Til Morning. Blue Moon follows the same AU premises as the previous two, moving into an altered version of Breaking Dawn, and bringing the series to a conclusion. AU, Canon. The series of stories has an alternate ending as well, called Forever.
1. No Place Like Home

**Story notes: **

**This is a sequel to my previous stories, _Castaway_ (AU New Moon) and _Straight On 'Til Morning_ (AU Eclipse). One small change at the beginning of New Moon led the story in a different direction; then even further away from the plot of Eclipse. **

**Now this one, _Blue Moon_, continues the story into an AU Breaking Dawn. But here's the thing: by now, the story has wandered so far from the original, that following the path of least resistance would result in a story with absolutely nothing in common with the original BD.**

**That would be okay, actually; and I may one day write that story. But I thought it was kind of cheating. An AU version should parallel the original to some extent. So I allowed my story to let in a few of the events from BD, the ones I think would logically occur in this alternate reality - including some of the paths that were suggested in BD, but never followed up. **

**I hope that's reasonably clear. **

**Breaking Dawn was written from Bella's POV. However, Bella's is not the only, or necessarily the most reliable, perspective. This story is from Alice's point of view.**

* * *

"Somebody's got a favourite!" I was only teasing, but Esme looked concerned.

"Oh, Alice, no! Does it really seem that way?" she asked turning away from the furniture rearranging she was doing, trying to perfect Edward and Bella's new home before they moved in. "I'd hate to give the impression that I had favourites."

"I was joking, Esme."

She seemed relieved. "Well, that's good. I love all of you children, of course, but each in their own way."

Playing mother to a houseful of fully grown, decades-old 'children' might have seemed weird under most circumstances. With Esme, it was just sweet. She was irrepressibly maternal.

"And Bella's the youngest and the most in need of help right now," she went on.

"And will be for a while."

She sighed. "Yes. I hope she doesn't have too much of a struggle in the early months."

"She'll have us to look after her." I took a reassuring glance forward along Bella's timeline. Some of the images were shifting, unformed as yet, but in the clearest ones she was happy, carefree. I had a glimpse of her out hunting with Edward, running joyously through the woods, her eyes still red. She turned and embraced Edward, knocking them both to the ground, and I quickly stopped watching. "The impression I get is that she'll have an easy time."

"I hope that's true." Esme went back to fine-tuning the decor of the pretty little Cape Cod house. Edward had purchased it in preparation for the move to New Hampshire, and Esme had immediately taken charge of its decoration. She'd done the ground floor interior in modified Swedish Country, thinking it would appeal to Bella's aesthetic sensibilities.

I ran up the stairs with another armload of clothing, which I hung in the walk-in closet of the master bedroom. I was careful to place compatible items together, as a pre-emptive strike against Bella's fashion ineptitude. Dressing Bella had been a challenging project so far, and I looked forward to years of gradual development in that area.

The bedroom was already complete, and I took another look around. Not _quite_ my cup of tea, at least for a boudoir, but lovely; and I had to admit, Esme had designed a room that Bella would be happy with. Primarily ivory and pale blue, set off with details of deeper blue and the dark wood of the big four poster bed, the large bedroom suggested comfort, even luxury, without being ostentatious. Bella hated being ostentatious. Not that she'd had enough experience with it to really know.

I jumped down the stairwell. "Esme, she's going to_ love_ the upstairs."

She smiled, her dimples showing. "I hope so!"

"Edward will like it too, of course. But you're not decorating for _him_ so much, are you?"

"Well..."

"Playing favourites!" I said, wagging my finger at her. I laughed at her guilty look. "Esme, you don't have to worry about it! Bella's _my_ favourite, my best friend, and I don't worry about who else knows it. Besides, you take such good care of us all, nobody could suspect any real preference."

She shook her head at me. "You know I don't really have favourites. It's just that I'm so grateful to Bella for making our Edward so happy. Especially after he was alone so long. Having her finally join the family is such a triumph for all of us."

I smiled at that, remembering the day Edward had brought Bella home to meet us. "We'd all given up hoping."

"And Bella's _such_ a dear," she went on. "I would have been ready to love anyone Edward chose, of course; but it was very easy with Bella."

"That's true."

"And she's clever. Carlisle likes her inquisitive mind. He thinks she'll be quite formidable after she's had some higher education."

"I can imagine."

"And she's so kind and considerate with all of us, and so affectionate."

"I can't disagree." I arranged the last of the new wardrobe on hangers. "If she had better fashion sense, she'd be perfect."

"That can be your special mission," Esme said, smiling.

"It may be hopeless. Did you _see_ the shoes she was wearing when they left Forks? I pointed them out to Edward, hoping he'd say something to her, but he didn't care."

Esme just chuckled. "She always looks perfect to him."

"I guess so. It's amazing, isn't it?"

She nodded, deftly arranging yellow roses on the coffee table. "I used to think he was alone because it was his nature. Now I realize I was very foolish. He must have been lonely, all those years. Seeing him with Bella made me realize there was something missing from his life."

I sighed. I'd noticed the difference myself, and Jasper had actually felt it. Edward was like a different man. It reminded me of something. "Esme, remember that stupid Frankie Avalon song, back in the Fifties? The singer is asking Venus to send him a girl of his own?" I started singing. "'_Hey, Venus!_'" I warbled, doing a fairly good imitation, although an octave or so above Frankie's range. "'_Hey, Ve-nu-u-us!_'"

Esme laughed. "Oh, yes. It was on the radio constantly. Carlisle said the young man couldn't expect much good to come of calling out 'hey' to a goddess." I grinned, remembering. "Hey!" Esme whined in a perfect Valley Girl accent. "Hey! Venus!"

"What now?" I snapped back in the same accent. We both laughed. "I was just remembering, Jasper used to pick up Edward's reaction whenever that song was played. Or any similar song, or a play or movie, when it was about a man who wants a woman of his own. Jazz said that it wasn't very pronounced, but Edward would always feel this little surge of…something like sadness, then guilt, then he'd quickly subdue his feelings."

"You never mentioned it before."

"There didn't seem to be any point. Why make you feel badly about something you couldn't help? But that's all over now."

She nodded, smiling slightly, as she scanned the room she'd perfected.

Rosalie came through the front door carrying several boxes of books. "In the shelves here, I assume?" she asked, setting the boxes down beside the built in bookcases covering one of the living room walls. Edward's books were already in place in the upper shelves. She placed the contents upright on the shelves in seconds. "I don't know what order Bella wants them in."

"I expect she'll enjoy organizing them herself," Esme said.

Rosalie looked around, then ran upstairs and back down, taking a tour of the house. "You're sure this is the way she'd want the bedroom?"

"I believe so, dear."

Rose looked skeptical. "She likes things kind of simple and homely," I said. The room was light years away from the Holly-Hobbie-Does-Italian-Baroque style Rosalie was addicted to. Not that I begrudged Rose her dream bedroom, if it made her happy. Still, meeting Rose's needs while staying within the bounds of good taste was probably Esme's biggest design challenge.

"I think she's also a little intimidated by anything too grand," Esme said. "I'm sure she'll get over that in time, but for now, I want her to feel at ease."

Rosalie nodded, scanning the living room. "It's certainly an improvement on her room back in Forks. But I suppose she didn't design that herself."

Esme grinned. "Probably not. I imagine her father was responsible for the room."

"Say no more," Rose said drily. "When are they getting here?" she asked me.

"Around ten o'clock." I scanned their near future, seeing them approach the house and Edward sweep Bella up into his arms to carry her over the threshold like a bride. _But we're not married yet!_ she protested, laughing. _Just want to stay in practice_, he told her, bending his head to kiss her as he carried her through the doorway. I found myself smiling broadly. The vision split into two possibilities, like a fork in the road, and I added, "Closer to midnight if they stop at that second-hand bookshop in Buffalo."

Rosalie laughed. "If they pass a bookshop, Bella will want to stop at it, and Edward will let her. Good thing Esme put in a lot of shelves."

I agreed. Bookshops were the only places Bella really liked shopping. Another way we were different. It was strange that we'd become best friends so quickly, when on the surface we didn't have that much in common.

"I don't suppose we'll be able to work on the wedding tonight?" Rose said.

"I'm sure Bella will need to sleep," Esme told her. "We'll see her in the morning."

"Fair enough."

Esme was smiling now. "I can't wait! I _never_ thought I'd see Edward marry."

"Even if it's a homely wedding," Rosalie added.

"I'm sure it'll be charming," Esme said. "Just simple."

"No criticism intended. I don't care if they get married in clown costumes, I'm behind them all the way. I said I'm done picking on Bella, and I'm going to keep that promise...eighty to ninety percent of the time."

"Rosalie!" Esme protested, laughing.

My phone chimed softly to indicate an incoming text message, and I took it out and glanced at it. It was from Bella, via the cell phone the family had pressed on her before leaving for our drive to Hanover. She'd refused at first, saying she could always use Edward's, but Emmett had pointed out that she could trip and break her leg somewhere, or fall down a well, or get cornered by an angry bull, and need to phone for help. I was rude enough to laugh, but Bella forgave me.

The message read, _If U C anytng re wdng pls keep scrt. Xpln ltr._ Bella wasn't yet at home with text abbreviations, but her directive was clear enough: keep any visions of Bella and Edward's wedding to myself for now. Intriguing. Did Bella have some wedding ideas up her sleeve? I quickly looked forward to the wedding day and saw a couple of _very_ surprising things. Good thing she warned me in time! I texted back _OK_ and a winking smilie face, deleted the texts and obediently zipped my lips. For now. I was looking forward to hearing her xpln ltr.

"I don't see why it takes them _that_ much longer to drive here from Forks," Rosalie was complaining. "We've been here five days, and they're still on the road."

"Rosalie, you know Bella has to eat and take bathroom breaks, and stop to sleep for the night." Esme said.

"She could sleep in the car. Edward's doing all the driving, after all. She could eat there, too."

"Humans can't sit in a car for hours on end, dear. They don't sleep well there, either."

"Besides," I added, "Edward planned the route around this whole culinary expedition he'd worked out. He wanted to take Bella to some interesting restaurants they'd be passing on the way."

"So thoughtful of him," Esme remarked. "Especially since Bella won't be eating food much longer."

"Yes," Rosalie agreed. "I hope he's not burdening the girl with a lot of final-meal agonizing. 'You'll never eat oysters again, Bella!'" she whispered in an angsty parody of Edward's voice. "'This could be your very last chance to try tripe!'"

"I doubt it," I told her. "Edward's pretty much over all that. He's looking forward to Bella's change as much as any of us."

"About time," Rose said. "So, not until tomorrow morning."

"It's nice to know you're so anxious to see them again," Esme said mischievously.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I just want to get on with the wedding plans. And yes," she conceded, "I like having the whole family together."

"Even Edward and Bella?" I grinned at her.

"Honestly, Edward's a lot easier to take since he and Bella got together. At least since he stopped trying to set her free, like some beached porpoise." I laughed at the imagery. "And Bella's grown on me. I like the way she stands up to Edward. Well, to everybody, for that matter. Even the werewolves."

"Remember that the first time she stands up to _you_!"

She laughed. "I'll do my best."

Rosalie was obviously having a good day. Those seemed to be a little more frequent lately.

To be honest, I missed having Edward and Bella around, too. Edward was my favourite brother, and Bella my best friend. I understood that right now they had limited time together, what with Bella having to sleep and all; and that they wanted lots of time alone to bill and coo and tell each other they were the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire; but I looked forward to the time when they were both part of the family, full time.

Esme finally declared the Love Shack complete in every detail, and we returned to the main house. We'd taken cars rather than running all the way, in order to transport the finishing touches more easily, and we raced each other down the darkening roads, away from Hanover and northeast, to the secluded parcel of land containing the huge, renovated farmhouse that was our current home. I beat them, of course, but Rosalie's M3 roared down the drive right behind me, and Esme's Jaguar pulled in a second or two later. We entered the house together, laughing.

Carlisle looked up from his book and smiled as Esme approached him. "Everything in order?" he asked, holding out his arms to her.

"Perfectly." Esme slipped into his embrace. "Alice says they'll arrive tonight, before midnight."

"Good," he said, kissing her. "I heard from the hospital while you were out. They may be able to give me a position with a permanent night shift, but not until late September at the earliest."

"Oh! You don't mind the delay, do you, under the circumstances?"

"It'll be all hands on deck once Bella makes the change," Emmett said. "No matter what Alice says, I think she's going to be the craziest newborn the family's seen."

"Then it's just as well I'm a man of leisure until fall," Carlisle concluded.

I wrapped my arms around Jasper's waist. "They'll come back here in the morning, and we can nail down the wedding details."

"Until morning, then," Carlisle said, leading Esme to the stairway. Rose and Emmett had already gone upstairs. We didn't usually disappear into couple-land this early in the evening, but there seemed to be something in the air. Maybe it was all the wedding talk.

"There are still a lot of last minute details to take care of," I told Jasper.

"Mm hm," he murmured, kissing my ear softly.

"Bella and I will have to go shopping again. Probably more than once." My excitement at the prospect began to lose focus as Jasper's lips moved down my neck. "But that can wait until tomorrow."

He smiled and held his hand out to me as he led the way to the stairs.

It was well past dawn and we could hear the others downstairs before Jasper and I finally separated and got ourselves dressed. I firmly took the shirt he'd chosen out of his hand and replaced it with my own selection. He grinned and obediently put on the substitute shirt. "It goes better with those pants," I explained. It was silk, pale yellow with a faint pattern running through it in gold, and cut snugly against his chest. I watched him fasten the buttons, suppressing the urge to rip it right back off him again, and he smirked as he picked up on the impulse. Firmly setting my mind in daytime mode, I put on a Betsey Johnson floral print halter dress and three inch heels - no school attendance meant I could dress to please myself - arranged my hair as best I could, and we dashed down the steps together.

"Well, well," Emmett remarked. "Not often you two are the last ones downstairs in the morning."

"It's Esme's room design," I told him. "I couldn't tear myself away from the delightful ambience." Everyone knew I was joking, but it wasn't completely untrue. I'd asked for a Moroccan motif, and Esme had, as usual, done a brilliant job. Being in there with Jasper was like making love inside a palace in Casablanca, as I know from personal experience.

"I'm so glad you like it, dear," Esme said.

Emmett snorted. "What's on for today?"

"I'm working on the garage," Rosalie said. The former barn was being renovated and turned into car storage, something we needed a lot of. "You could help with that," she told Emmett. Emmett saluted smartly, and Rose giggled.

"I'm finishing off the paperwork for our next move," Jasper said. "I want to have it ready to go if we need to leave on short notice." We all nodded soberly. Bella's change was coming up fast, and although I foresaw her as admirably under control, it was best to be prepared for anything. She could always snap unexpectedly and, as she liked to put it, massacre the unsuspecting townfolk. That sort of thing called for quick action and reliable fake ID.

"Well, _I'm_ getting my car today," I said gleefully. "The minute the place opens." I hadn't officially owned a car back in Forks, in keeping with my juvenile cover story, but now I was taking on the role of college girl, and could reasonably expect a hot car as graduation present from my rich, doting parents. I'd put in an order for a shiny new BMW roadster four weeks ago, to be fitted out with custom details and picked up at a dealership in Hanover, and this was The Day.

I'd driven Rosalie's convertible here from Forks, so Rosalie could drive Bella's truck. She'd actually _offered_ to drive the truck, weirdly enough. It was strange how much she'd softened up on the subject of Bella. I couldn't tell for sure if it would last, since Rosalie's emotions fluctuated too continually.

"I want to make sure the background is solid on Bella's scholarship," Carlisle said. "Her father might be inclined to investigate... afterward. Perhaps you could look it over for me later," he said to Jasper, who nodded. Obviously, Bella needed an explanation in place for being able to afford Dartmouth without using any of her father's money. The imaginary, but highly credible, Pacific Northwest Trust provided that explanation: a full scholarship plus living expenses to a deserving female student intending to study English Literature. Some eccentric millionaire had left the trust, which also supported the maintenance of wildlife habitat, in the care of the legal firm of Jason Scott and Associates of Seattle. Charlie could investigate all he wanted; Pacific Northwest Trust would check out.

I spent the next couple of hours helping Rose and Emmett with the garage, then followed Esme around assisting her in establishing her flower garden behind the house. At 8:45, I brushed my hands off. "Esme, can I borrow your car?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Off to pick up your new one?"

I grinned and nodded, dashed into the house and grabbed the car keys, seized Jasper by the hand, and ran back to the car barn. Jazz followed along without a murmur. "What if they don't have the car ready yet?" he asked as we drove. "Suppose they're late."

I glowered at him, and he grinned back. "They won't be, that's all." I scanned ahead quickly, just in case, and saw my car parked outside the showroom, as promised. I turned sharply into the parking lot at one minute before nine, just as car salesmen were entering the office, carrying cardboard coffee cups. "Just in time!" I hopped out of Esme's car, reminding myself to walk at human speed into the showroom. Jasper followed me in. I could hear him stop breathing as he walked through the door, my poor lamb. No open windows meant the scent became concentrated in places like these.

"May I help you?" A young woman in a horrible, horrible polyester print blouse smiled at me, her smile fading into a slightly stunned look for just a moment and Jasper came up behind me. Her hair was apparently touched up with some home highlight kit, one she should have practiced with first, maybe on her dog. Don't these people own mirrors?

"Cullen," I said. "Alice Cullen. You have my car?"

"Dave?" She waved to get the attention of a middle aged man leaning against a metal desk, one of the people who had entered just before me. He came toward us, still nursing his takeout coffee. His suit, I noted, was an ill fitting thing made out of yet more polyester. _All_ the salesmen, in fact, were wearing polyester suits. The dwindling fossil fuel supply might be linked to car salesmen as much as to cars.

Dave smiled, shook my hand, blinked in surprise at the coldness of it, and spent the next ten minutes boring me to death with the official paperwork necessary to transfer the vehicle into my possession. Jasper wandered around the showroom, looking over the new models and studiously ignoring the plaintive gaze of the receptionist. Finished with the legalities at last, he escorted Jasper and me out the back exit, where he waved a hand at a nearby parking place. There she was, shiny and gorgeous, deep yellow with white leather interior. Zelda. I jumped, clapping my hands, and Dave grinned and held out the key. "It's all yours. Congratulations."

"Thank you!" I grabbed the key, bid Dave a quick farewell, and hurried over to claim my prize. "Isn't she beautiful, Jazz?"

"Nice set of wheels," he agreed.

"Zelda," I said, patting the fender.

He snorted. "That's what you're calling it?"

"After Zelda Fitzgerald. It's so good to have my own car again!" I sat down in the driver's seat. "Should we go for a ride? Maybe to the coast?"

"If you like. But didn't you want to be home when Edward and Bella came by?"

"Yes, I did." I sighed. "Okay, save the ride for later."

Jasper drove Esme's car, and we sped home, passing each other whenever the road was clear. We parked behind the house, a few yards from the barn where Emmett had finished replacing the roof tiles and Rosalie had poured a concrete floor. I picked up a glimpse, and called out, "They're coming!"

"When?" Emmett asked.

"Eleven minutes."

"Oh, fine." He went back to installing window glass, while Rosalie continued to apply wood stain to the exterior walls.

They both finished within six minutes, and came by to admire my new car, Rosalie pausing to take a good look under the hood.

After seven minutes, Esme set aside her gardening tools, stopped to pay homage to the roadster, and returned to the house along with Jazz and me. I heard the shower running upstairs, and Esme returned forty seconds later.

At ten minutes, everyone was gathered in the main room. When Edward came through the front door, I rushed him and caught him in a hug, then gave a much more cautious hug to Bella. She looked very happy, and I decided not to bring up what she was wearing, at least not for now. After being welcomed by all, she and Edward sat down together.

"Bella, have you had breakfast?" Esme asked.

"Yes, and thanks for stocking the kitchen before we got back."

Esme smiled at her. "It was fun, buying groceries that weren't just props. How was your trip?"

I suppressed my impatience while Bella and Edward described their journey, concluding with a fruitful visit to the book shop I'd seen earlier. Then the pair were taken around and shown the new house. I tagged along.

"I can't believe you did all this in just five days," Bella remarked. "The house looked like it was falling down, in the picture you showed me."

Esme smiled. "Well, we had some professional work done before we arrived; the rest was a group effort." She opened a doorway just off the dining room. "This is Carlisle's office. On the ground floor this time around."

"Just like I remember it."

"He likes it laid out the same way, wherever we go." She led Bella up the staircase. "This is Carlisle's and my room," she said, indicating the bedroom at the top of the stairs, decorated in a vaguely Japanese style, in the palest of blues and greens.

"Pretty," Bella said.

"Thank you, dear. Jasper's study," Esme pointed out, continuing down the hall, "and Alice's room."

"Wow!" Bella remarked as she peered through the door of my little Moroccan retreat. I grinned happily. It _did_ make a statement.

"Rosalie and Emmett's is here." Bella just smiled and nodded at that one. They came to the last bedroom. "We set this one aside for you and Edward. Just...in case you should ever need it."

Bella bit her lip. I suppose she realized the obvious purpose of the room: to give her a place in which to transform, when the time came. It would have to take place here, at our very isolated house, rather than at Edward's place near Hanover, so that there would be no neighbours to hear her scream. I very much hoped _that_ part didn't occur to her. Edward met my eyes, and I knew he'd heard my thoughts. _We'll make it as easy for her as we can_, I thought, and he nodded once and turned his attention back to Bella.

We took a quick tour of the grounds, including the nearly finished car barn, and I showed off my new roadster. Edward admired it for real, and Bella tried to show an interest. "You really should learn a little more about cars," Rosalie told her, "if only so you can appreciate Edward's wedding present." That Edward was giving her a new car was an open secret, although Bella still didn't know what kind of car to expect._ I_ knew. In fact, I'd been part of the selection process. The metallic blue Porsche 911 was stored in an outbuilding, under dust sheets, until the big day. It was to be an alternate vehicle to her revamped pickup truck, Maxine, which she'd insisted on keeping, and which Edward had learned to accept.

We finally returned to the house and finished with the pleasantries: Bella thanking Esme for doing the house in Hanover, Emmett making fun of her, chatting about the drive here, about Dartmouth, about the local wildlife...blah, blah, blah. _Finally_, Esme said, "Perhaps we should discuss the wedding."

Bella looked nervous but willing. "Sure."

"You still prefer to be married here at home?" Esme went on.

"Yes. If that's okay with everybody." There was a general assent.

"But when?" I asked. "I guess it's going to be soon, and we need to know how much time we have to arrange things."

"There shouldn't be much to arrange," Bella said. Poor, naive girl. "How about in two weeks or so?"

"July?" Carlisle looked around the room. "Any objections?" We batted some possible dates back and forth, finally agreeing on a Monday afternoon.

"But who's going to actually perform the ceremony?" Rosalie asked. "Alice said you wanted a member of the family to do it, right?"

Edward nodded. "It's possible to obtain an online ordination with only two weeks notice. It allows the recipient to officiate at a wedding. It's perfectly legal."

"Does it really matter how legal it is?" Emmett asked, grinning. "You're not going to register your marriage, right? You couldn't use your true name and age, to name just one problem."

"It matters to me," Edward said. "I'd like it to be as official a wedding as possible."

"Legal or not, the wedding vows will be real," Bella said. "They'll be real to me, anyway."

Edward squeezed her hand. "And to me."

This led Carlisle and Edward into a rather abstruse discussion on the requirements of a valid marriage at different times throughout history. They finally came full circle by agreeing that the online pastor's certificate was satisfactory.

"So who's it going to be?" Emmett asked. "Carlisle?"

"That would be the logical choice," Edward told him, "except that I asked Carlisle, before we left Forks, to be my best man."

"Oh! And you kept that to yourself for over a week?" Rose exclaimed.

"I only told Esme," he said. "I thought I'd save the news until we were discussing the wedding in general." He looked more pleased than his calm statement suggested. I could imagine how much Edward's request had meant to him.

"So, if not Carlisle, then who?" Emmett asked. "Or should we make it a challenge? Winner gets to do the wedding?"

"We should let _them_ decide," I said, nodding to Bella and Edward.

Edward shook his head. "I have no idea. Unless Bella has a preference?" He looked at her.

She bit her lip nervously. "I kind of do, actually. If it's okay..." She looked around at us. "I'd love it if Esme could do the ceremony."

Esme looked surprised, even a little shocked. "Oh! Sweetheart, I...I can't say I've ever thought of myself as a minister!"

"It's just a license to perform weddings," I told her. "You don't have to start giving sermons every Sunday or anything."

Edward was looking at Bella, a bemused smile on his face. "You always surprise me. Yes, I second that request. Will you, Esme?"

"If you're sure that's what you want." She turned to me. "Will I be able to get the paperwork in time, if I apply today?"

I looked. "Yes. It'll arrive in twelve days."

Emmett chuckled. "We have to get Esme a purple robe and a mitre before then."

Esme shook her head at him and turned back to Edward and Bella. "Can I ask about guests?"

Bella looked startled. "I thought it would be just the family."

"Yes, but we have something of an extended family as well. The people from Alaska we used to stay with. We consider them cousins, at the very least."

Bella looked up at Edward. "They'll be part of your life as well," he told her. "I think it would be fitting to include them, if you have no objection."

"Uh, no. That would be fine."

Jasper caught my eye. It was clear enough that she was uncomfortable with our cousins attending, and I had a fairly good idea why. I might have interceded on Bella's behalf, but I could see that it would all work out. Edward glanced at us, absorbing both our insights without comment.

"I'll contact them today," Carlisle said.

Rosalie smiled. "It'll be nice to see them all again."

"What about decorations and such? Bella, is there anything you'd prefer?"

"Not particularly."

I laughed at her un-bride-like indifference. "I think Bella should leave all that to us." She gave me a wary look. "We'll keep it restrained, don't worry."

"Okay, if you don't mind."

"Not in the least," Esme said. "There's nothing I'd enjoy more."

"What else?" Rosalie asked. "Rings?"

"We'll buy those together, I think," Edward said, looking down at Bella, and getting a shy smile in return.

"If that's all settled," I said, "Bella owes me a day's shopping."

"What? Today?" she asked.

"Why not today?"

She sighed. "No reason, I guess." She looked at Edward. "I did promise her."

"Go, then." He kissed her gently. "I'll see you soon."


	2. Retail Therapy

I gleefully grabbed Bella by the hand and dragged her to the door. "We'll be most of the day," I called back to the others. "Come on, you get to be the first passenger in my new car."

She climbed in, looking around. "I like the white leather."

I grinned happily. "It's very glamourous, isn't it?"

"It suits you," she said. "So does your bedroom, by the way."

That made me smile. To most of the world, I looked like an elf, or a prettier than average street urchin, not the love child of Jean Harlow and Benito Mussolini. "Bella, you understand me better than almost anyone. I suppose that's why we're best friends."

"I guess that's one reason." She smiled. "Speaking of that, as my best friend, I hope you'll agree to be my bridesmaid." I looked at her in surprise, and she laughed. "Don't tell me you didn't see that coming!"

"No, I missed that among all the new decisions. Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. You're my best friend. Who else would I pick?"

"Thank you, Bella!" I hugged her - maybe a little too hard, because she exhaled abruptly.

"Keep your hands on the wheel, Alice!" I laughed and let her go. "Thanks for keeping the other things secret. Was it difficult?"

"Not too hard. I just remembered to picture you getting married in your little blue dress. Edward's none the wiser. So," I said, smiling, "I guess our first stop is...?"

"I guess it is. It's not too late to get a wedding gown, is it?"

"Not with me in charge, it's not. What made you decide to go this route? You were so anti-wedding gown."

"I don't know. Once I'd agreed to the wedding, the externals didn't seem so intimidating. Besides, I thought it might be important to Edward."

"He'll be over the moon." I grinned at the future image of Edward, seeing Bella dressed as a bride. "He's very sentimental about some of these things."

"Then it's the right thing."

I asked her a few key questions about her wedding dress preferences as we drove. Not that I expected Bella to have a clear idea of what she wanted, but I was able to pick up on her likes and dislikes through subtle interrogation.

She squared her shoulders bravely as we pulled up in front of a bridal shop, but she looked distinctly nervous.

"Come on, girl," I said. "Time to cowboy up!" She laughed and followed me inside.

A thin woman in a dowdy suit but surprisingly good shoes introduced herself as Sharon, our bridal consultant. I brushed aside her preliminary pleasantries. I knew what was needed: chiffon, not satin or taffeta. A simple, cap sleeved dress in Regency style. No train. Bella would be at ease in a dress like that, and it would appeal to Edward's romantic sensibilities.

Bella tried on four subtly different gowns before I found The Dress. It was delicate and graceful, and set off her slender figure beautifully. "Bella, that's it! You look like a dream!"

She stared at herself in the row of wall mirrors. "It's nice." She seemed a little stunned by the image that looked back at her.

"It's perfect," I said firmly. "We'll take it with us," I told the Sharon, who was hovering nearby.

"Oh, you don't take _this_ dress! We'll order one in for you, and you'll need to have it altered!" she protested. "That will take at least..."

"My mother's the best dressmaker on the continent." I assumed that would be taken as an exaggeration, rather than the literal fact it was. No need to mention that I was just as good a seamstress as Esme. "She wouldn't have anyone else do the alterations."

"Oh! Well, we don't usually sell sample dresses until the end of the season," she said, flustered. "I can't offer you a discount on it, you know."

"That's fine. Just wrap it up. And we need to see veils."

Sharon scuttled off to fetch veils while I helped Bella out of her dress. "I never thought I'd see myself in one of these," she observed.

"I'd say your life has taken a_ lot_ of turns you hadn't expected."

She laughed. "That's true. What was your wedding like, Alice?"

"Oh, even smaller than yours. Just the family, at this little chapel we came across in our travels."

"Did you wear a wedding gown?"

"No, I wore a very stylish white silk suit and a little pillbox hat with a velvet bow on the side. I carried a bouquet of dahlias." I carefully replaced the dress on its hanger. "Jazz looked just beautiful in a blue suit with a white rose in his buttonhole." I smiled at the memory. "We'd been together a long time already, but exchanging vows in front of our family like that...it still meant something. You'll be glad you did this, Bella, even if it seems silly now."

She nodded. "I know. And it doesn't seem silly, not any more. Just a little uncomfortable."

Our minion returned with a cartload of veils. Now that the dress had been selected, it was easy to choose accessories. "This one," I said, picking out a waist length veil in a very fine, very sheer silk tulle. I held it in place and turned Bella to face the mirror. "What do you think?"

"I agree," she said, grinning. Obviously, she would have gone along with whichever one I picked. Wise girl.

"You want to take the veil with you as well?" the saleslady asked brightly. I assumed she worked on commission. If so, this was probably the easiest day's wages she'd ever made.

"Yes, please. Do you carry shoes?" She directed me to a side room. "Nothing here," I concluded after a quick glance. "We'll have to move on." I produced a credit card and accepted the garment bag and hatbox in return.

"Thank you," Sharon said to me, and to Bella added, "Best of luck with your wedding."

"Thanks," Bella mumbled, following me out of the store. I very carefully stowed the dress and veil in the trunk. "Now. Shoes are next." I headed for the highway. "I know just the place."

She put up a bit of a fight at the shoe store. "Bella, you can't wear flats with your wedding dress!"

"I don't see why not." I just rolled my eyes. "Alice, I can't even walk in high heels! Falling on my face would do more to spoil the wedding than the wrong pair of shoes."

I sighed, and reminded myself that she wouldn't have this problem for long. I finally got her to agree to a pretty pair of sandals with kitten heels, simple but with crystal embellishments. She took a few cautious steps in them. "See? You can walk in those. Just regard them as training wheels." I paid for them before she could change her mind, led her out of the shop and added the shoe box to our secret hoard in the trunk. "Those are perfect! You'll be a beautiful bride," I told her as I pulled back out into traffic.

She turned red. "Thanks for helping me with all this."

"It's my pleasure, believe me. And thank _you_ for not making a fuss about the payment."

"I can see it's kind of silly at this point. None of the reasons for objecting really apply any more." I looked at her. "Well, I hardly have a penny to my name, and you guys have an unlimited supply. And you all seem to like buying things for each other."

"That we do."

"And once Edward and I get married..."

I grinned at her. "Yes, you get your own credit card and your own link to the Cullen treasury." I laughed at her expression. "Speaking of treasure, what about jewelry?"

"What about it?" she asked warily.

"Are you wearing any jewelry with your wedding gown?"

"Oh! I don't have much, other than my engagement ring. I suppose I could wear the crystal heart Edward gave me."

"Crystal heart? You mean his mother's diamond?"

"No, the little heart pendant he gave me as a graduation present. Would that be okay?"

"Yes, that would look very nice."

She looked at me rather narrowly. "What did you mean about a diamond?" I just looked at her. "Alice - that can't be a real diamond! It would be, like, five carats!"

"Just under six, actually."

"You're not serious! And I've been wearing it around my neck all this time?"

"That's what it's for, Bella."

"Holy _cow_!"

"I suppose it's just as well you didn't know. You probably would have refused it, and that would have hurt Edward's feelings."

That slowed her down a little. "Well, I wouldn't want that, but it feels weird to be wearing a diamond that size."

"Bella, try to put this into perspective. Edward's been carrying those things of his mother's around with him for ninety years. He wasn't saving them because of their monetary value."

"No, I know."

"Especially the engagement ring. Edward never expected to find someone he could love. The ring was a souvenir of someone else's happy marriage. Can you imagine how it felt to finally find someone to wear it for him?" She nodded. "Of course you can. Edward didn't need a six carat diamond, Bella. What he needed was someone to give it to."

"Okay. I know. I really do get it, Alice. It just took me by surprise."

"You really had no idea it was a diamond?"

"Not a clue." I snickered. She sighed and nodded toward the trunk. "Are we done, then?"

"We're done with the _wedding_ shopping. We still have to get started on your summer and fall apparel." She stared at me. "That was the official reason we were shopping today, remember? We can't come back empty handed."

"No, I guess not."

"Besides which, you actually will need clothes for the coming months."

"I've got clothes," she muttered.

"You've got a tee shirt collection. It's hardly a suitable wardrobe for a newly married woman." She grimaced irritably. "Besides, you're going to be a Cullen, and you have to be prepared to sometimes dress the part. Cover story, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." She frowned. "It'll seem...funny, dressing the way the rest of you do."

"I think you'll get over that. Once you see your new self in the mirror, you'll probably enjoy dressing yourself a lot more." I had been headed for downtown Manchester, but I foresaw Bella asking for a bathroom break and some lunch, and turned toward the nearest mall instead. Her expression became thoughtful. "What?"

"Will I really look like you? Like all of you, I mean?"

"We all look different," I hedged. I wasn't sure what she was worrying about.

"But you're all beautiful."

"You will be, too." I indulged in a quick peek at Bella's future, and saw her, pale and gorgeous, running through the woods at blinding speed.

"Will I be...?"

"Will you be what?"

"Will I look like myself? I mean, would someone who knows me now be able to recognize me, after? Will I look like myself, only better; or will I look completely different?"

"I haven't really seen people both before and after. In person, that is. I've seen _you_, though."

"Seen me?" She sat up straight as she realized what I meant. "You mean you can see what I'll look like?"

"Oh, yes." I smiled. "It's one of my favourite visions. You look wonderful. And you _do_ look like yourself, more or less, only much prettier. You just go from Bella to Bellisima."

"It's weird that the change makes people more beautiful."

"Not really. The venom heals everything, you see. If you get bitten when you have a broken leg, or some chronic disease, or anything else like that, the venom heals it completely."

"Sure, but ugly isn't a disease."

I laughed. "No, but a lot of the things that make people less attractive are minor physical imperfections. Those all get healed, too. Skin blemishes, broken capillaries, uneven teeth, crooked nose from a childhood fall - they're all fixed. And _then_," I went on, warming to the subject, "any flaws that result from slight hormonal imbalances, like a woman with a little moustache, are adjusted. Female characteristics are sort of enhanced in women, male ones in men. That's why we're all so dazzlingly masculine or feminine, as the case may be." She giggled. "Skin becomes smoother, hair thicker, everything more symmetrical. The end result is that it's very hard to find an unattractive vampire."

"I see. Thanks, Alice."

"Any time." I deftly cut in front of a slow moving truck and took a right turn, into the mall parking lot. I led Bella down the main corridor, remembering to slow down enough to let her keep up with me.

"Alice, could I stop a minute..." She broke off as I pointed her down a hallway to the ladies' room. "Oh! Thanks. I'll be right back."

While she was gone, I quickly looked over the mall directory and planned our itinerary to minimize walking, for Bella's sake, and to access the more interesting shops first, before she got tired or started rebelling. She emerged from the washroom, and I obtained food and waited more or less patiently as she ate. Human eating was so dull and plodding compared to hunting.

She paused between bites of something vile smelling, but apparently acceptable to her palate. "Can I ask you about the wedding?"

"It's your wedding, Bella! Of course you can."

"What happens, you know, right after."

"After the ceremony? We celebrate, of course. What did you think?"

"Well, at human weddings, the meal is kind of a central part of the celebration."

"Aha. Well, there will be food and drink for _you_, of course. Plus, I've ordered a gorgeous wedding cake."

"A cake, when only one person can eat it?"

"It's tradition more than food," I said firmly. "You'll love it. It's two tiers, round with scalloped edges, chocolate cake with pale blue fondant covered in a kind of lace made of spun sugar." She blinked, and I laughed. "Too much?"

"I'm sure it'll be great."

"As for the rest of us, we'll celebrate by dancing, socializing, the usual. Emmett will make an embarrassing speech, you'll toss the bouquet, Edward will throw the garter..."

"Garter?"

"I'll provide one." She looked a little dismayed. "Tradition, Bella."

"That's one tradition we should probably skip."

"Spoilsport. Well, I'm giving you a garter anyway. Edward can take it off later."

She blushed. "Do I really need a bouquet?"

"Actually, I think you might appreciate it. It'll give you something to do with your hands when you're walking up the aisle."

"That's true."

"What else did you want to ask?"

She went red again. My throat burned. "About the other people you're inviting - your cousins? Are they okay with me and Edward?"

"They're very happy about it. Tanya wouldn't believe it at first," I laughed, "but they certainly have no objections." She frowned a little when I mentioned Tanya.

"Tell me about them."

"Well…for a long time there were four in the family, four females, all originally from eastern Europe. Tanya, Irina, Katerina - Kate - and their mother, who was executed by the Volturi. Carlisle told you about all that."

"I remember. She wasn't literally their mother, was she? Are they actually sisters?"

"No; she was their mother the way Carlisle is our father. It's been a very long time, but they still grieve for her. They never talk about her, so it would be better not to bring the subject up." She nodded, and I looked away as she took another bite of that food thing. "Then, late nineteenth century, Eleazar and Carmen met the sisters, and decided to take up the vegetarian lifestyle. They ended up joining the family."

"They're close, like your family?"

"_Our_ family," I corrected, and she smiled shyly. "Yes, they're close; although there's a different dynamic with the Denalis. The three sisters were together a long time, so they make up a unit, and Eleazar and Carmen make up another one. They live together very harmoniously, though."

"Tanya's the leader?"

"Oh, yes. She's the oldest, since their mother was destroyed; and anyway, Tanya's kind of a natural born leader." Bella nodded, her frown deepening. "You're wondering about Tanya and Edward, I suppose."

"Well, yeah. I know I don't need to worry about Edward, honest. I just wondered if Tanya was going to have any hard feelings about the wedding. I wanted to be prepared."

I laughed, and she looked puzzled. "Honey, you do realize that Tanya had no interest in _marrying_ Edward, right?"

She blushed. "I figured that out, eventually."

"So you understand that you and she aren't exactly rivals. She just saw a single male in a family full of couples, and figured he'd be...receptive. The only thing that bothered Tanya was having her offer turned down. She's not used to it."

"I see." She gathered up the crumpled napkins and empty containers onto her tray. "Alice, you said you'd tell me all about your cousins some time. The 'X-rated stories' about them, you said. What was that about?"

The time had come, apparently. Edward probably wouldn't like it, but he still didn't realize how tough his girl really was. "I'm not sure where to start." I thought a moment while she waited, big brown eyes fixed on me. "See, Tanya and her sisters decided to stop hunting humans on their own. They didn't have any outside encouragement."

"Like Carlisle."

"Right, but...the motivation was a little different for the sisters. They did it, initially, because of an affection for men, an affection they all shared." She tilted her head inquisitively. "Not human beings, as a whole. Human _men_."

She looked at me, as the poem says, with a wild surmise. "When you say affection..."

"Bella, have you ever heard of a succubus?" Her eyebrows shot up. Apparently she had. "Some people think those stories began, back in Europe, because of the actions of Tanya, Irina, and Kate."

"So they just go around...being _affectionate_ with human men?"

"Pretty much. Thousands of them, probably, by this time. I hope that puts Tanya's pass at Edward in perspective."

"Yeah, a little. Um, is that a very common thing?"

"Definitely not. I don't know of any other examples. It's too difficult, for one thing, especially if you intend to leave your partner alive. Even the sisters found that hard in the beginning. They used to...excuse my mentioning this, but they used to do it as part of their hunting routine, at first."

She swallowed hard. "Like a black widow spider." I laughed. "What about the men? Was this all...voluntary on their part? Aside from the getting killed part, I mean?"

"Oh, yes. Those three never had any trouble getting men to accept their advances. Well, with very few exceptions."

"Don't they ever, er, get together with other vampires?"

"Once in a while. There's no reason they couldn't; any of them could even have a real mate some day; but in the meantime, they like their human men."

"Thousands of them," she mused.

I giggled. "The sheer volume makes words like 'slut' kind of inadequate, doesn't it?"

She laughed along with me. "Your whole family knows about all this, I assume?"

"Of course. Oh, I know what you're thinking! You're remembering how you once worried Carlisle and Esme would look down on you because you and Edward were canoodling at night."

"Yeah," she said, embarrassed.

"You can see that we're a bit more broad-minded than you thought."

"Edward probably doesn't really like what they do, though."

"No. I wouldn't say he disapproves, exactly. He just finds it kind of sad."

"That makes sense."

"I guess it _is_ a little sad. They have to be careful not to fall in love with one of their humans, you know."

"Because if they did, it would be permanent?"

"Exactly."

"So all three actually are virgins, of a sort. Their hearts have never been touched."

"Yes," I agreed in surprise. Sometimes Bella seemed much older than her years.

She pondered a moment. "Want to get back to shopping now?"

"Absolutely."

"And you can tell me more about the cousins. We kind of focused on one aspect up until now."

"The succubus thing does kind of draw the attention," I agreed, as we left the food court and resumed our shopping trip.

I went on describing the cousins, including Carmen and Eleazar, while Bella complaisantly let me choose clothing for her, send her to the fitting rooms, and pay for her - or rather, _my_ - selections. She only balked when I chose something too flamboyant for her tastes. That was happening less often; I'd figured out her preferences and her aversions, and I worked around those. That let me introduce her to fashion gradually and relatively painlessly.

"Eleazar spent some time in Volterra, with…friends, like Carlisle did," I told her as I helped her out of one dress and into another. "He was actually in the service, not just a visitor."

"Eleazar worked for them?"

"Sure. He has a talent they found useful."

"What talent?"

"He can see the talents of others."

"That's an odd one."

"Mm hm." I studied the effect of the current dress, decided that burgundy wasn't her colour, and unzipped her again. "Eleazar thought it was worthwhile, helping maintain law 'n' order on the ol' frontier. Eventually, he started to have his doubts, and when he met Carmen, he left them for good." I handed her a navy and white A-line skirt, and she stepped into it. "That's cute. Try it with this." I chose a contrasting blouse, which she obediently put on. "Good. That's a keeper. Okay, you can put your own clothes back on."

"We're done?"

"We're done here. We've got three more stores to visit." She sighed deeply and started getting dressed while I took the approved items to the cash. She rejoined me, and we headed back into the mall. "There's not that much more to do. Just get you some decent jeans and a few casual items, a cocktail dress, and some shoes."

"Why on earth do I need a cocktail dress?" she demanded. "Whatever that is."

"Bella, do I have to keep reminding you that you'll be playing a part? You may never seek out an occasion that requires a cocktail dress, but the cover story might call for it at some point."

"Right. Okay."

"Then again, you might decide you just feel like dressing up sometimes." She shrugged. "You know. Dressing up for Edward?" I said it as nonchalantly as I knew how. "I remember how he enjoyed seeing you all decked out for the prom. Not that you have to go to those extremes, but I'm sure he'd appreciate any effort. After all, he always chooses clothing he thinks you'd like on him."

As I'd expected, that hit the mark. I casually moved away, pretending to be distracted by a window display, while Bella let it sink in.

Shopping was easier after that. By the end of the afternoon, we'd acquired the basics: some decent jeans that didn't hang loosely off her butt like a bath towel; nicely fitting dress pants in four colours; eight skirts, including a red pencil skirt that was beyond her comfort level, but looked too good to leave behind; a selection of cute casual tops and several silk blouses; half a dozen dresses for all occasions; and assorted footwear. I couldn't convince her to try high heels, so I saved that battle for after she was less apt to fall down, and stuck with ballet flats and loafers. The clothes weren't so far from her usual castoffs as to cause her real anxiety, but they looked a thousand times better, and introduced her gradually to the concept of style. Baby steps. After her change, I could start to push things a little further.

Driving home, she asked, "What are you going to do about the dress and the veil?"

"Leave them in the trunk for now, and sneak them into my room some time when everybody's out of the way."

"That doesn't happen too often."

"No, but all I need is thirty seconds. I'll get it done."

"Can you really keep this a secret from Edward for two whole weeks?"

"I can," I said firmly. "I have this clear picture of you in my mind, getting married in your blue dress and patent leather heels, your hair up, a string of pearls around your neck. I hold that image in my head whenever the wedding comes up. He'll assume it's the real thing. If it gets too difficult, I'll add something else to occupy my mind." My emergency backup plan was to mentally translate the lyrics to _The Wreck of the Old '97_ into classical Greek.

"Okay. Thanks for all the effort, Alice." I waved it off. "So, what do you have in mind for the bridesmaid's dress?"

I beamed at her. "You certainly know how to keep the conversation fresh!"


	3. An Influx of In-Laws

Sure enough, I had an opportunity to sneak the dress and veil up to my room two days later, when Edward and Bella were out buying their rings. Having unobtrusively marked the hem at the bridal shop, I was able to start alterations immediately. I'd need one more fitting to make it perfect. Edward didn't leave Bella alone very often, so I'd have to choose my moment.

Edward and Bella turned up at the house daily, but for varying lengths of time. Nights were spent at their little house in Hanover, and Edward devoted a good part of their days or evenings to taking Bella places: restaurants, concerts, anything he thought she should experience while still human. He was no longer guilt ridden about taking her humanity, according to Jasper, but he did seem to feel obligated to make the most of her remaining time as a mere mortal.

The wedding was coming together nicely. I found myself a wonderful bridesmaid's dress, and Rosalie helped me do the alterations. I have to do a lot of alterations to keep myself dressed. There aren't many items of clothing I can wear off the rack, even the so-called petites. Unless I start shopping in children's wear, and _that's_ not going to happen! The dress was silver and mimicked the flowing quality of Bella's wedding gown. I added a chic little barely-there hat to finish it off. Nobody wears hats these days, and I kind of miss it. I used to get very creative with my millinery.

Esme and I went to four different florists for the wedding flowers, in an attempt to avoid gossip over such a large order. The living room would be festooned with white roses, freesia, lilies, and peonies, as would the brickwork terrace we were installing. Emmett, wanting to contribute something handmade, build a wooden archway which was to be set up, decked with flowers and ribbons, and used to mark the site of the actual ceremony, at one end of our open-concept living space. At Esme's suggestion, Bella would carry a little nosegay made up of small flowers, rather than a big, showy bouquet. She said it suited Bella more. I ordered enough rosebuds to make boutonnieres for all the men, and we were set.

Edward and I discussed music for the reception one day at the house. "What about for the ceremony?" I asked. "Are you going to have a wedding march?"

He turned to Bella. "I'm not sure. I thought Bella didn't want to walk down the aisle in the usual way."

"Oh, I changed my mind about that," she said, blushing a little but otherwise giving nothing away. I concentrated for a second on my image of Bella in her blue non-wedding dress, then pretended to suppress the image and replace it with baseball statistics from 1949. So far, Edward seemed to be buying it.

"In that case, maybe Rosalie would agree to play?" He looked over at her.

"Sure," Rose said shortly. She was having one of her bad days. "What music?"

He looked at Bella. "Any preference?" She shook her head, so he turned back to Rosalie. "I'll leave that to you. Something traditional for weddings."

"Got it. Er, thanks for asking me," she added grudgingly.

Bella smiled at her. "Don't play anything too fast, please. I don't want to end up tripping on the way."

She snorted briefly, but did give Bella a faint smile before turning back to the movie on TV - some tearjerker from the Fifties. Just what she needed right now - more angst.

I finished altering the wedding gown one night while Edward was out hunting with Emmett. I didn't even have to make arrangements to sneak Bella over here after dark. Edward was afraid to leave her completely alone in their house, so he asked us to let her stay here in the house. I did the alterations, we had a little bit of a slumber party, and Bella slept in the room prepared for her.

About a week before the wedding, the ladies set aside a day for the outing many of us had been waiting for: lingerie shopping. Bella tried to place a veto on the event. "Bella, come on!" I whined. "It'll be fun."

"I doubt that." She set her jaw stubbornly.

"It's kind of traditional. A female bonding event, you know." She rolled her eyes. "I figured you'd like it better than a bachelorette party," I concluded, "but if you'd rather…"

"No! No bachelorette parties! The wedding might not be exactly like I'd originally planned it, but there are limits."

"Poor Edward!" Rosalie giggled.

Bella looked surprised. "What does that mean?"

"Just that he won't get any special honeymoon wear." She looked at Bella. "That _was_ the point of this whole excursion, you know. Don't worry. I'm sure he won't mind."

I almost gave Rose a high five. "But why should he have to do without?" I asked, driving the point home. "Honestly, Bella. What's so awful about wearing some pretty unmentionables for your own husband?"

Her face turned a shade redder. "I never said _that_ was awful."

"Well, in order to do that, you have to first purchase them."

"I know." She scowled.

"And if you have to purchase them, why not do so in the company of your female family members, and benefit from their many years of experience?"

She grimaced. "Nothing too extreme, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," I assured her.

"Edward probably has a low tolerance for _osé_ lingerie, anyhow," Rosalie muttered.

We took my car. Rosalie rode shotgun, Bella sat in the back with Esme, and I drove, since I'd worked out the itinerary carefully in advance. We would hit the more conservative shops first, and save the more interesting ones for later, after she'd started to let her guard down. I was starting to learn how to work the room where Bella was concerned. I knew enough to start out slowly, with practical things she needed anyway, like bras and panties, gradually moving from the simple to the frilly to the slightly risqué. Then we moved on to camisoles and teddies, until she'd adjusted enough to be receptive to some very distinctive nightwear.

Bella really did start to relax once we got going. She blushed almost continually, but she seemed to actually enjoy the day - not the shopping so much, I think, but the companionship and the banter. Even the inevitable bedroom humour didn't appear to bother her so much, especially when it came from Esme, who always made those things sound poetic rather than smutty.

About midday, we bought some takeout food and stopped for a picnic in the park, and talked about things that didn't necessarily come up during Carlisle's formal information sessions. Vampire hair and nail care, for example. "See, the actual hair, once you get a few millimetres from the scalp, is technically dead," Rosalie explained. It was a subject she could get quite enthused about. "Other body parts heal if they're injured, no matter how badly, but if you break or cut a hair, it doesn't grow back. On the bright side, they don't fall out on their own."

"Okay," Bella nodded, chewing on something nasty smelling. A 'wrap,' apparently. "But…why haven't you all lost most of your hair by now? You must snag it on things all the time, running through the woods and all."

"Of course we do. Well, there are two reasons. First…" She held out a lock of hair. "Take hold of one hair," she instructed. Bella complied, looking confused. "Try and break it."

She took hold of a strand of hair, her hands an inch apart, and pulled. Frowning, she moved her hands further apart, wrapped the hair around her fingers for traction, and pulled harder. "What…?"

Rosalie smiled. "The hair is stronger than it looks. Just like the rest of us."

"That's weird!" Bella exclaimed. "It feels so soft, but it's like pulling on fishing line."

"Our hair _can_ break," Esme explained, "or be cut with scissors or a razor, but it's a good deal tougher than human hair."

"But if it does happen, there's one way to restore it," Rosalie said. "You have to pull it out by the root. You get a good grip," she demonstrated, holding a strand of hair close to her scalp, "or use a pair of needle nosed pliers, like Alice does, and carefully pull the hair right out. It doesn't come out easily, but it can be done."

"What does that do?" Bella asked. She looked as if she wasn't sure whether we were playing a joke on her.

"The hair follicle is actually alive, so our body restores it. Then - this is the really weird part - the hair grows back until it's the same length it was before. The same length; no more, no less."

Bella stared at her. "That's kind of fascinating."

"Isn't it?" I grinned. "It means I can never grow my hair out, but I also never lose a single hair, so it's very thick." I patted my short spikes.

"I can see why the follicle grows back," Bella said thoughtfully, "but why would the hair grow out to exactly where it was before?"

"We're not sure," Esme said. "Carlisle has seven separate theories on the subject. Vampire physiology is a difficult thing to study; there's so little background information."

Rosalie went on, "Another thing about our hair is that it's non-porous. That means we can't use products that require the hair to absorb anything, like hair dye."

"Except for that temporary hair colour that you just wipe on," I noted. "We've had some fun with that."

"I went pink for a while," Rosalie said.

"Gwen Stefani phase," I explained.

"Now, the nails are a different matter," Rosalie said. "On humans, they're basically more dead tissue." She glanced at Bella's uneven, bitten fingernails and looked away again. "Our system apparently regards them as tools, or weapons. As necessary, in any case. They're the second hardest substance in our entire bodies."

"What's the first?" Bella asked, then answered herself, "Your teeth, I suppose."

"Yep," I said, chattering my own teeth at her.

"Fingernails stay the same length all the time," Rosalie said. "Just below fingertip length."

Bella looked down at Rosalie's elegantly manicured hand. "But yours are…"

"Oh, _these_ are acrylic." Rose held out a hand to admire her glossy French tips. "Our real ones never get this long."

Esme held out her hand to Bella, displaying her own, non-augmented nails: smooth and with a faint lustre, an opaque pinkish-white rather than the pale pink of human fingernails. They were short and barely curved at the ends, kind of like the neat, practical manicure a nurse might maintain. They weren't long enough to look peculiar on the men; just as if they needed a little trim. Bella examined Esme's hand closely. "They stay this way permanently?"

"Yes, they do," Esme answered. "Of course, you can always use nail polish, or even artificial nails, like Rosalie's."

Bella nodded. "Thanks. I never would have thought to ask about any of that."

"What else haven't you asked about?" Rosalie inquired.

"What else? I don't know." Bella shrugged.

"I'll bet Edward hasn't told you anything about what your private life will be like…after."

"Oh!" She turned red, of course, but made no attempt to change the subject.

I gave her a hug. "Fortunately, _we_ have no such inhibitions." I grinned at her. "Looks like this is turning into a bachelorette party, after all."

* * *

The Denalis had responded to the invitation with the greatest delight. Well, except for Irina, who was hesitant. They had all been interested in how Edward's _situation_, as Carmen politely referred to it, would play out.

Irina was still ticked off about Laurent. Apparently she and Laurent had become close friends, and she had some idea they'd eventually grow closer. Maybe Irina was looking to settle down after a few centuries of playing the field. She hated the werewolves for killing Laurent, and resented us for forming an alliance with the werewolves.

Irina had stated emphatically that she wouldn't come near us again as long as we were living in Forks, close to _them_. She actually refused to attend the wedding at first, even here in New Hampshire; but Carlisle spoke with her for a while, and then Esme got on the phone, then they hung up so Tanya could argue with her, then Carlisle got her on the phone again, and in the end they convinced her to forgive and forget.

Not only did _all _the cousins agree to attend the wedding, they proposed coming by a few days early, to catch up with us I saw them arriving early on the Thursday morning before the wedding, just before sunrise, and warned everyone the evening before. That meant we were all dressed and ready when they turned up, and we heard Eleazar calling softly from outside. Esme hurried to open the door, and they rushed in, exchanging hugs and greetings.

"It's so wonderful to see you all again!" Carmen said, kissing everyone in turn.

"It's very good to see you as well," Esme told her, accepting a bear hug from Tanya.

"This is like old times, back in Alaska," I agreed, giving each of them a peck on the cheek.

"Irina, I'm so happy you were willing to come after all," Carlisle said, giving her a hug.

She shrugged. "I suppose I was being silly. I can see you didn't have many options. And it's not as if the werewolves are going to be at the wedding. They're...not still around, are they?"

Emmett laughed. "They're all back in Washington, and we don't expect to see any of them again."

"But we were all sad to hear about Laurent," Esme added.

"Thank you," Irina said, a little stiffly. "Let's put all that behind us."

We gathered in the living room. "Where are you staying?" Esme asked.

"We have rooms at a hotel near Hanover," Tanya answered.

"We can offer you accommodations," Esme said. "There's an extra bedroom upstairs; and we have a small house on an adjoining property."

"You bought two properties at once?" Carmen asked.

"We liked the additional privacy," Carlisle said, "especially with Bella's transformation coming in the near future."

Carmen raised an eyebrow. "Understood."

"The other house is really only a summer cottage," Esme went on, "but it's certainly tenable. You're more than welcome to use it."

The cousins looked at each other, seeming to come to an agreement without a word. Eleazar answered, "Thank you, perhaps Carmen and I will accept your offer."

"The rest of us will stick to the hotel," Tanya said with a smile. She didn't have to explain why: it was easier to conduct the sisters' kind of social life with a hotel room to bring male guests back to. A town full of college students probably offered many desirable opportunities.

"Where's Edward?" Tanya asked, looking around.

"And that girl of his - Bella?" Kate added.

"They have a place of their own, closer to the college," Esme explained. "They'll be by a little later."

"Good!" Kate said. "That'll give us time to hear all about her while she's not within earshot. She must be one bold, intrepid little human, pairing up with a vampire. Knowingly, that is."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "A regular Valkyrie." We all laughed.

"Why is that funny?" Carmen asked.

"She's a very shy, unassuming kind of girl," Esme explained. "You might even call her timid."

"Really?" Tanya frowned. "That's surprising."

"But that doesn't really describe Bella," I objected. "She's brave as a lion when she has to be." I gave an account of Bella's actions during our escape from James, how she had eluded Jasper and run straight to James in an attempt to save her mother's life. Esme described her first visit to our home, after she knew what we were. Emmett talked about her assistance with the werewolves back in Forks, Carlisle described her meeting with the Volturi, and Rosalie gave a rather dramatic description of Bella's final confrontation with the wolf pack, when she convinced them not to interfere in her decision to become a vampire.

"Good Heavens," Eleazar remarked. "Are you sure she's human?"

We laughed. "Very sure," Jasper said drily.

"And this is the girl you call timid?" Kate asked.

"Well," Jasper said, "it depends on what kind of danger she's facing. For example, she's going to be very intimidated when she comes here and meets you all for the first time."

Carmen nodded sympathetically. "We'll try to appear as human as possible."

"No, that's the thing," I said. "She won't be scared of meeting a roomful of vampires. She'll be afraid of meeting a roomful of strangers. Social awkwardness, you know."

"But you'll have a chance to get to know her yourselves," Esme said.

"I'm looking forward to it," Tanya said. "Can we see your new house?"

Eleazar remained on the ground floor, talking with Carlisle, and Kate went outside with Rosalie to check out the newer vehicles. The rest took the house tour, and ooh'ed and ahh'ed over Esme's interior design. The Denalis, as part of remaining inconspicuous, filled their home with whatever was selling well at major department stores; but Esme had them rethinking this approach.

"Seriously, doesn't a home like this make you stand out a bit?" Irina asked.

"It does, of course," Jasper replied, "but we tend to stand out a bit already. The house, the clothes, the cars - they make people conclude we stand out just because we're rich and stylish, and they stop speculating."

I nodded. "Remember the Coneheads?"

Tanya laughed. "Was that as much of a non sequitur as it seemed?"

"No, no," I said impatiently. "The whole joke with the Coneheads was, they were trying to blend in with ordinary humans by surrounding themselves with completely ordinary things. They wore track suits, drank Tang, listened to Peter Frampton, played golf."

"'We are from France'," Emmett intoned in a fairly accurate Dan Aykroyd voice.

Tanya giggled. "We invite you to consume mass quantities." Her Jane Curtin had a faint Slavic accent.

"The ordinariness was completely at odds with how obviously alien they were," I went on. "That's what made them funny."

"They _weren't _funny," Jasper said firmly.

"Even so." We had long ago agreed to disagree about the Coneheads. "The point is, extremely ordinary surroundings just emphasized their weirdness, instead of camouflaging it."

"I see what you're saying," Carmen said thoughtfully.

"We'll have to talk this over," Irina said. "Maybe we can stop buying all that tacky home-assembly stuff."

We headed back downstairs. "What about the house Edward and his bride lives in?" Carmen asked. "Did you decorate that as well, Esme?"

"Yes. Now, that one looks just a little more ordinary. Bella and Edward are supposed to be a pair of college students."

I stopped and took a quick look forward. "Speaking of Edward and Bella, they're almost here."

The sound of Edward's Volvo could be heard turning up the drive. "Should we avoid approaching her, touching her?" Carmen asked.

"No, there's no need. She's used to contact with us," Esme told her.

We heard footsteps, then Edward saying quietly, "We have company."

"Company?" Bella asked, as they arrived at the front door.

"The Denalis are here." I could hear Bella's heartbeat speed up in response.

"Oh, she _is_ nervous!" Carmen remarked as the door opened.

Edward gently drew Bella inside and stood holding her hand.

"Edward! It's so nice to see you again!" Tanya exclaimed.

"It's good to see all of you. I'd like you to meet Bella Swan."

"The girl needs no introduction," Kate said, approaching them. She gave Edward and hug and then, very carefully, embraced Bella and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm Kate. Welcome to the family."

"Thank you," Bella said, smiling shyly. "It's nice to meet you at last."

The others greeted her and introduced themselves in the same way, and Edward sat down beside Bella on the loveseat.

"We've heard good things about you, Bella," Carmen said.

"And interesting things," Tanya added mischievously. "Should I call you Red Riding Hood?"

"Red killed the wolf in the end," Irina commented rather caustically. "Bella makes friends with them."

"Most of them were already my friends," Bella explained uncertainly.

"I see."

Bella frowned a moment, as if trying to remember something. "You must be pretty angry with them. I was sorry to hear about Laurent."

We all kind of froze. It wasn't clear how much Irina blamed Bella for Laurent's demise.

"Thank you," Irina said, a little aloof. "But I suppose you consider it justified. Your story is that he was about to attack you."

"Not _my_ story, exactly. That's what Jacob told me."

"Jacob?"

"Jacob Black. He's a descendant of Ephraim Black," Carlisle explained.

Irina looked back toward Bella. "He was one of them?"

"Yes. He was there when…when Laurent died."

"When Laurent was killed," Irina corrected. "So this Jacob was one of those who destroyed him?"

"So I was told," Bella said.

"And you consider him a friend of yours." Irina didn't sound openly hostile, but her voice was flat.

Edward was starting to frown at this line of questioning, but Bella took his hand as though to soothe him. "I've known Jacob since we were practically babies. His father is Charlie's - my dad's - best friend. I used to see him every summer when I came to Forks to stay with my father. He wasn't a werewolf then; he was just another kid."

"And you say he was involved in the attack on Laurent?"

"Yes. He told me a little about it, when I asked him about helping with Victoria."

"I'm sure you feel some gratitude to these wolves for their assistance," Irina said, looking uncomfortable. Irina's influence had convinced the Denalis not to help us against Victoria and the newborns, and she had to be feeling a little awkward about that fact.

"Of course."

"That would explain why you maintain friendly relations with them."

"Well…I'd still be friends with them if I could."

Irina blinked. "You would?"

"Yes. I have no reason not to be, really, and I've known some of them my whole life. I'm still friends with Rachel Black. We keep in touch since I left Forks."

"She is one of the…?"

"No, just a regular person; but she's Jacob's brother, and engaged or something to another werewolf, Paul."

Irina appeared to be getting less testy. I looked questioningly at Jasper, and he shook his head: he wasn't altering her mood. Talking about the werewolves as people with normal lives and relationships seemed to be taking away her anger's momentum. "But they want to destroy people like the Cullens. When you are changed, they will want to destroy _you_. How can you be their friend?"

"I guess I can understand their point of view. I didn't like their attitude toward the Cullens, but where other vampires are concerned, they feel they're protecting human beings against murderous attacks. Well, mostly they _are _protecting humans against murderous attacks."

"So you take their side?" Irina asked, sounding puzzled.

"I didn't really think of it as choosing sides. If I did, then obviously I've chosen the other side. The pack weren't too happy about my choosing to become a vampire."

Kate chuckled. "Yes, we heard a little about that."

Bella blushed slightly, and I heard several of us swallow hard. "But I don't completely disagree with their approach, either. They're protecting themselves, protecting people in their community."

"I suppose so," Irina said reluctantly. "But in the case of Laurent…he had begun following our practices, hunting only animals. There was no need to kill him."

"Well…I only know what Jacob told me, but he said they attacked Laurent when he was hunting me."

"That could be merely an excuse."

"It_ could_ be but…I don't think so."

Irina scowled. "Because your friend Jacob would never lie?"

"No, he might lie, but the fact is, Laurent _was_ there in the woods at the same time I was. I know that much is true. I heard the wolves attack him, although I didn't understand what I was hearing at the time. Laurent _might_ have just recognized me from that time with James and Victoria, and come closer to talk to me or just see what I was doing, but Jake says he was hunting me. He might have been mistaken, I guess, but he wouldn't just make that up as an excuse."

"Why not?"

"Jacob would see no need to make excuses. If they'd seen a vampire in the area and killed him, just because he was there, Jake would have said so. He saw that as a reasonable thing. More than reasonable: he would brag about it."

"I understand," Irina said quietly. "Then…perhaps Laurent was misleading us about his intentions."

"Maybe he wasn't trying to mislead you," Bella suggested. "Maybe he just…slipped up, one time."

Irina was quite subdued now. "Yes. If so, he paid for the mistake."

Bella nodded. "I really am sorry. Laurent seemed very nice. He gave us advice on how to escape from James, although he had no reason to help us."

"He was very kind," Irina agreed.

"We had all hoped he would find a place with your family," Carlisle said. "He clearly didn't belong with James and Victoria."

"Thank you, Carlisle. No, he didn't. Laurent seemed to have very bad luck." She sighed deeply. "Very well. Let's put all this behind us," she said as before, but now with more conviction. The conversation moved on to other things, and this time without the elephant in the room.

I caught Edward's eye a second. _Isn't she something?_ I thought, and he smiled. He'd mostly overcome the habit of underestimating Bella. It was strange how awkward she was with people most of the time, and yet seemed to know exactly what was called for when things were precarious.

Bella continued to study our cousins whenever she thought she wasn't being observed. I looked at them, trying to see them through her eyes. She seemed to take to Carmen right away, and that made sense: Carmen was warm and motherly, with an ingratiating manner. Eleazar was quieter but also likeable, and he was very sweet and gallant about Bella becoming part of their family.

The three sisters still seemed to intimidate her a little. I didn't really get that. They were good natured, funny, and easy to get along with. I watched them as they talked and laughed with the others. Three blonde bombshells, yet very different types.

Kate was like the well-scrubbed, beach volleyball-playing California girl, with her long, straight hair in the palest shade of blonde, her turned up nose and wide smile, and her rather athletic figure. Irina was an ash blonde who looked a little like Frances Farmer, with her striking features and big, soulful eyes. She was slender yet womanly, like Bella. Tanya, the strawberry blonde, was as pretty as her sisters - although with a better rack than either of them - but she had a wholesome, farmer's-daughter look to her that men seemed to find appealing. She always reminded me of a young, sober Courtney Love, but the others couldn't see it.

The talk became lively, often breaking up into multiple smaller discussions that interacted with each other. That was something that often happened, back when we lived with Tanya's family in Alaska, and I always found it very stimulating. Bella seemed a little bewildered at times; it must have been hard to keep up with all the overlapping conversations.

She did notice that Eleazar was watching her, off and on, with a curious expression; but when she met his eyes, he only smiled and looked away. I noticed Edward looking smug. He seemed to like it when Bella's mind blocked other people as well as it did him.

"Bella, you must be ready for lunch," Esme said at one point. "There's lobster salad for you in the refrigerator."

"Thanks, Esme." She excused herself and went into the kitchen.

"It's interesting," Eleazar said. "You indicated she could shield her mind, but I didn't expect anything this absolute. She's a complete blank. Obviously, her gift is a form of shield, but I can only know that because I'm unable to discern any gift. Or lack of gift, for that matter." He turned to Edward. "Right now, you can't hear her thoughts at all?"

"No, not the slightest trace."

"Aro could not read her," Carlisle added, " and none of the Volturi guard were able to have any effect."

"It's remarkable, to see a talent this pronounced in a human." Eleazar looked thoughtfully toward the kitchen. "I'm very curious to see how it will develop afterward."

"We all are," I said cheerfully.

He looked at me. "Have you seen anything in advance on that score?"

I shook my head. "Bella doesn't have any plans to develop her gift, at the moment, so nothing much is coming through yet."

Edward went to keep Bella company while she ate. Eleazar leaned forward, still focused on the shield question. "You have no trouble seeing her future, normally?" he asked me.

"Nope, no more than the average human."

"And Jasper…?"

"I can read her and influence her emotions in the usual way," Jazz said.

"Then it is a specifically mental shield," Eleazar concluded, and sat quietly for several minutes, lost in thought.

When Bella returned to the living room, Eleazar leaned toward her. "Bella, may I ask a favour? Would you be willing to remove your shield so I can observe the nature of your gift in more detail?"

She looked surprised. "Remove my…?"

"Yes, the shield that prevents Edward from reading your mind."

"But I'm not doing anything to prevent him."

"I should have explained," Edward said. "Bella is shielded, as you call it, at all times. It seems to be her normal condition."

Eleazar turned back to Bella. "Is that so? You are doing nothing to block access to your thoughts?"

"No," Bella said, looking embarrassed. "I'm not doing anything. I'm…just sitting here."

Eleazar leaned back. "Fascinating!" He mused a moment. "Have you ever attempted to remove it?"

"Er, no. I wouldn't even know how to start. I wasn't aware I had a...a shield until I met Edward, and he found he couldn't read my mind."

"She may have more control over it after the change," Kate suggested.

"Yes, that's true."

In the late afternoon, Edward stood to leave, explaining he was taking Bella to dinner. The guests responded with good-natured jokes about hunting and how their future dinner dates would differ from the present ones. After they'd gone, Kate declared, "I like her."

"I do, too," Tanya agreed. "Once I got past the idea of Edward with a human girl. Edward is the last person I'd have expected to go bio!"

"He fell in love," Esme said.

"Yes, I see that. Well, he was always far too romantic for a _marriage de convenance_. "

Rosalie smirked. "Nobody could call their relationship convenient, that's for sure."

"True," Carmen agreed. "She's a lovely girl. She'll be quite stunning afterward, won't she?"

"She'll be formidable, I think," Irina said thoughtfully. "You called her timid? I think that's just varnish, paper thin. She's going to surprise us all."


	4. The Big Day

The day would be sunny, but it didn't matter. We'd be among friends, away from outside scrutiny.

Edward had agreed to stay away from the house until just minutes before the wedding. He'd returned from the hunting trip with Jasper and Emmett before dawn, come back to the main house to check on the wedding preparations and to shower and change, and I followed him back to his house in my car. I realized I was being obtrusive, but he and Bella would have plenty of time alone once the wedding was over. This morning, she was mine.

I woke Bella, gave her just enough time to climb into whatever clothes she had on hand, and dragged her out the door as she desperately tried to grab Edward and kiss him goodbye as she passed. "We'll see you in a few hours," I called back to him. "And don't you dare be early!" I shoved Bella into the passenger seat and headed for the highway.

"Did we really have to start out so early?" Bella grumbled. "The sun's not even up."

"There's a lot to do." I ran through my checklist with happy anticipation.

"Edward could have come along."

"Bella, there's no way I can get you dressed without spilling the beans about the wedding gown." I sighed. "It'll be a relief not to have to guard my thoughts every second he's around."

"I know. I appreciate all the effort you've put into this, Alice," she said contritely.

"What are bridesmaids for?"

Bella was greeted with more than usual warmth. I was ready to start making preparations, but Esme reminded me that Bella hadn't had a chance to eat breakfast. I kept myself occupied as best I could while she ate with what seemed like deliberate slowness. I helped Rosalie arrange the flowers out on the brickwork patio the family had constructed, finally grabbing Bella the minute she'd finished eating.

"Now," I said, pulling her up the stairs, "first, get in the shower. Wash your hair and use the conditioner I left in there." I pushed her into my bathroom and left her to herself for a bit. When I heard her turn the water off, I handed her a bathrobe and began dealing methodically with skin moisturizing and unwanted hair removal, finally leaving Bella sitting back with a refining mask on her face while I gave her a manicure and pedicure. I applied makeup with a very light hand, aware that Edward would consider it gilding the lily.

Esme came upstairs to dress while I was working; then the men arrived to put on their suits. Rosalie offered to do Bella's hair, and I relinquished control of the job after giving her detailed instructions. Watching carefully for Edward's imminent arrival, I slipped into my dress and returned to the bedroom. Rose had done a magnificent job with the hair, I had to admit. It was smoothed back from the forehead then loosely braided and coiled into a wavy bun over which the veil would be set. The idea was to suggest a hairstyle of 1918 without making her look like she was in period costume, and I think we nailed it. I told Rosalie so.

"Of course we did," she said complacently. "She's perfect." Bella looked skeptical. "Just switch your engagement ring to your right hand," she instructed Bella.

"Okay, you go get dressed and get yourself downstairs," I told her. "You can't see Bella until the wedding." Rose rolled her eyes, but complied, emerging from her room a minute later, fully dressed, her hair in an updo.

"Rosalie, you look great," Bella told her.

"Thanks, Bella. I'll see you downstairs."

"Try not to think about how she looks until Edward sees her," I warned.

"I'll focus on the music." Rose disappeared.

I looked ahead. Edward would be arriving in twelve minutes. "Okay. Time for the dress." I took it from its garment bag in the back of my closet and helped Bella into it, doing up the back buttons and smoothing out the silk. The fit couldn't have been better. I fetched the veil, carefully placed it, and stepped back. "What do you think?"

"Think?" she asked. I turned her until she was facing my full-length mirror. "Oh!"

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

"I look like…a bride."

"That was the general idea." I looked more closely at her. "Are you okay with this?"

She stared at her reflection a long moment, then smiled. "Yeah. I'm okay." She hugged me suddenly. "Thanks, Alice."

"It's okay. Now, I have to get you out of my line of vision. If I can see you, Edward will be able to see you."

"Right."

"Stay right there," I said, indicating a place around a corner, "out of sight. I'll let you know when it's time." I handed over her miniature bouquet, which was also perfect. Esme had managed to obtain fresh orange blossoms somewhere or other. "When I start down the stairs, you count to five and walk down after me. From there, just walk slowly and go right to where Edward is standing."

"I can do that," she said. She seemed a little nervous, but nothing debilitating.

"Good." I grinned at her. "See you at the wedding." She vanished around her corner while Edward was still a minute away. I carefully removed any image of Bella in her wedding gown from my conscious mind, filling it instead with other wedding details Edward might reasonably expect. I heard his car turn in the drive, heard everyone greet him. Esme had him hold still while she pinned his boutonniere in place. There was some subdued conversation, a few jokes from Emmett and from Tanya. Then I heard Esme say, "I think it's time to begin."

Rosalie's light steps crossed the floor downstairs as she walked toward the piano. A moment later, the sound of Rose playing _Sheep May Safely Graze_ could be heard, along with faint shuffling as everyone took their places. "Ready, Bella?" I whispered, and heard a faint reply. Rosalie segued smoothly from Bach to the wedding march she'd chosen - something from Handel - and I started down the steps. I concentrated on my special wedding day distraction device, translating Shakespeare's love poetry into Spanish, allowing the occasional glimpse of imaginary Bella, in her blue dress and bouquet of lilies, to flash through my mind as though by accident. I took my place at Esme's right and turned to watch Bella approach, reciting _Voy a compararte con un dia de verano? _to myself. This was the longest I'd ever kept a secret from Edward, and it had been an effort.

It was all worth it the moment Bella came into view.

Everyone was surprised, of course. The entire family had been expecting her to wear the dress I'd made, following her wedding-phobic instincts. When Bella came around the staircase and into sight, I heard Esme whisper _Oh! _and Emmett chuckle, saw Jasper catch my eye with a smirk as he realized what I'd been keeping to myself for the past two weeks. But Edward was more than surprised.

His eyes widened at the sight of her, arriving at our makeshift aisle in her white dress and veil. As she continued to walk toward him, his face became transformed by a look of absolute joy. Jazz closed his eyes briefly against the force of the emotion he was perceiving. I gloated to myself, and Carlisle couldn't hold back a grin at Edward's expression.

Bella finally met Edward's eyes, and shyly returned his smile, her pace speeding up slightly as she walked the last few steps to him, reaching out to take his hand. Whatever nervousness she'd felt earlier, she was certainly over it now. The two of them stood beaming at each other like idiots, and the rest of us just basked in the moment. It had been such a long journey for both of them.

The music came to an end, and silence fell. Bella handed me her bouquet and turned her full attention on Edward. Esme sighed deeply, and began. "Dearly beloved…"

They recited their vows, Edward still glowing with joy, Bella with tears running down her face. She'd get some teasing about that, I imagined. They exchanged rings, and Esme could barely contain her satisfaction as she declared them husband and wife. Edward took Bella's face in his hands and kissed her tenderly; when he drew back, Bella suddenly laughed and threw her arms around his neck, and he laughed in return, lifting her feet off the floor with his embrace, before they finally turned to accept our congratulations. Neither of them could seem to stop grinning, although Bella did it with tears still drying on her face.

As Bella had pointed out, a wedding reception usually involves an elaborate meal and plenty of drinking. Without those elements, what you have left is great deal of dancing; familial affection; public embarrassment; corny traditions; and lots of laughing and hugging and sentiment. We came through on all those things.

Bella had tried to beg off on the traditional first dance with the bridegroom, on the grounds that she couldn't dance and should not be allowed to try. Rosalie insisted that she could if she were properly taught, and the entire family rallied round and spent the last few days before the wedding teaching her. After a few abortive attempts and a broken vase, we agreed that the fox trot would have to be left until later, but we did manage to teach her to waltz reasonably well. Accordingly, for the first dance Rosalie played a simple waltz on the piano. We broke into applause as the newlyweds turned slowly around the room, probably as much for our teaching skills as for Bella's dancing. She only stumbled once. Bella, never comfortable being the centre of attention, gestured for the rest of us to come out on the dance floor and join them, and we did.

After that, Rosalie fired up the stereo and we started moving out onto the patio, which was festooned with flowers and twinkling with tiny lights hidden in the surrounding trees. Bella swayed minimally in Edward's arms while the rest of us whirled around them. The gentlemen each took their turn dancing with the bride, simplifying their steps to allow for her incapacity, and Edward danced first with Esme, then the rest of us one by one. When it was my turn, he grinned as he led me through the dance. "So _that's_ what you were hiding the past couple of weeks!"

"And it wasn't easy. But Bella asked me to keep it a secret. She wanted it to be a surprise."

"It was certainly that. How did you talk her into it?"

"I didn't! It was all Bella's idea. She just asked me for a little help in getting things ready."

"Really?"

"Really and truly. I was all set to arrange the feeble little token wedding she'd wanted in the first place. The changes are all hers."

"I see. Thank you, Alice."

"You _know_ it was my pleasure."

After an hour or so, Bella was offered a meal, which had been set out for her in the dining room, a small, carefully chosen array of bite-sized gourmet items on Esme's best china. Edward went to sit with her while she ate, and I could hear them, talking over the wedding.

"I have to ask," Edward said. "What made you change your mind about the traditional wedding apparel?

"Oh, that. Did I surprise you?"

"As always."

"Alice didn't give it away?"

"No; she was quite clever about it. She would occasionally let images run through her mind of you at the wedding, but you were always in a blue dress, carrying some lilies, with your hair done up like Esme's. I thought that was the real image sneaking into her thoughts, but it was only a decoy."

"She's very resourceful."

He laughed. "Very. But she tells me it was your idea. Why? I hope you didn't feel there was any pressure on you to follow convention."

"No, it wasn't like that. I just…I wanted it to be like a real wedding."

"I see."

"I mean…don't misunderstand, I already knew it was a real wedding, no matter how it was conducted or what I was wearing. But it was important to me that you never, _ever_ had any reason to doubt that I considered it a real wedding. That I took it seriously, and that it was real to me."

There was a silence. "I understand. So your bridal wear is, you might say, your wedding present to me?"

"You might say that. How did you like it?"

"It was the best gift you could have given me," he said quietly. "Apart from the gift of yourself, which is, of course, priceless beyond measure."

"But you've given me back _your_self," Bella said, sounding shy now, "so we're even."

"I'm glad you think so." They were quiet for a time, then Edward said, "Eat, Bella. You'll need your strength for the evening ahead."

She laughed. "More dancing?"

"A great deal more."

Once Bella had finished her dinner, she and Edward cut the wedding cake, then Edward fed her a bite while we cheered. He was going to take a bite himself, but Bella stopped him. "Please don't do that," she told him, putting her hand over his mouth. "I have a pretty good idea how disgusting it is for you."

"Then you have my portion," he said, feeding her a second piece. Emmett handed her a glass of champagne, a special edition Dom Perignon purchased for the occasion. Bella sipped it cautiously, and seemed to like it. She took a second sip.

"You are now officially on the wrong side of the law," Emmett told her. "Underage drinking! I always suspected you were a hooligan underneath that polite exterior."

"Wayward girl!" I chided her.

She laughed. "You're right! I hate to think what Charlie would say!" A slight shadow passed over her face - only for a second, but Edward seemed to catch it. A few nominal toasts and speeches of congratulation and welcome followed. When everyone went back outside, Edward kept Bella behind a moment.

"I don't mean to spoil such a happy occasion," I heard him say, "but I wonder. Do you regret that your parents can't be here? That they won't know you're a married woman?"

"No, I don't regret that."

"You're sure?"

"I thought about it. It would have been nice if Charlie could give me away. Not that I really wanted to be given away," she added, "but if it made Charlie happy, I could have gone along. But honestly, neither of my parents would be overjoyed to see me married this young. It would mostly worry them. It's better that they don't know. And anyway…"

"Yes?"

"When I left Forks, I left all that behind. I'll always love them both, but _this_ is my family now. You're my life now. Some parts of moving on might be sad, but I don't have any regrets. _Please_ don't worry about this, Edward. This really is a happy occasion. The happiest."

"Very well."

"Should we go back outside?"

They reappeared as the dancing resumed. I knew from past revelries with the Denali, back in Alaska, that dancing would probably continue well into the night. When salsa music started, Bella wisely stepped off the dance floor to sit out, and was immediately handed another glass of champagne by Emmett. I think he hoped Bella would be even more amusing drunk. Edward sat down beside her, but she urged him to rejoin the group. "You're needed," she told him. "There are more women than men. They require partners."

"I'll keep Bella company while you dance," I told him, and he let himself be persuaded. Carmen claimed him, and Bella watched in delight, mesmerized by the sight of Edward doing a mambo.

"He's such a good dancer!" she observed. "Well, you all are."

"You will be, too. You'll be incredibly graceful."

"That's hard to imagine." She sipped her champagne and watched the dancing, staring a bit when Esme's dance moves with Carlisle became distinctly suggestive. "You keep forgetting," I whispered to her, "they're not really our parents."

She snickered. "I know, I know."

The song ended, and Edward returned to claim her for the next dance, another waltz. She seemed to be able to relax and follow his lead better this time. Maybe the champagne helped. Jasper appeared, bowing and formally asking for this dance, and I happily took his hand.

While the rest of us whirled to the waltz music, Irina, Tanya, and Kate occupied one corner of the outdoor dance floor, performing what I assumed was a Slovakian folk dance. They wove around each other in graceful patterns, then two of them would form an arch with their arms while the third danced beneath the arch; then another pair would form the arch, and so forth. The music ended, and Kate darted over to start another waltz playing. "Bella," she called, "come join us!"

Bella hesitated. "Um, I don't know how to…"

"Oh, it's simple. A child could do it. Come on, we'll help you." She led Bella by the hand as the music began playing, and explained the pattern of the dance. "You _have_ to join in. This was traditionally done at weddings, you know, a long time ago. We're supposed to be leading you on the journey into married life," she said, miming the movements of the dance.

"Here," I said, "we'll be the third dancer together. Just follow me." I took her hand and led her around the other women, under the arches, and into a circle as the pattern of the dance called for it. She followed along willingly enough, laughing when she made a mistake, smiling and blushing when the dance concluded with Bella in the centre of a ring while the four of us, hands clasped, circled around her.

Bella took one more break, during which Emmett handed her what I counted as her fourth glass of champagne. He'd been giving her refills too, so that estimate might be low. "No more to drink, Em," I whispered to him. He scowled slightly. He'd probably been thinking it would be a hoot to get Bella roaring drunk. Not on _my_ watch.

By midnight, Bella was still dancing, but looking a little worn out. I took her by the hand. "Come on, Bella. Time to change."

"Change? Into what?" she giggled. "A butterfly?" Maybe I'd stopped Emmett's bartending service a little too late.

"Into your going-away clothes," I said. I signalled Carlisle to do the same for Edward, and dragged Bella up the steps to my room. I helped her out of her wedding gown, removed her veil, and gave her a very familiar garment in exchange.

"My blue dress!" she said.

"The one you were going to get married in. Aren't you glad you changed your mind?"

"Yes. But this one's so pretty."

"You can wear it again." I had her sit while I took her hair down and brushed it out. "There. Ready for the honeymoon." She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, and I laughed. She'd _definitely_ had too much champagne.

We returned to find Edward at the bottom of the steps, and everyone else standing by to see them off. Bella got a little emotional at that point. "Alice, thank you for everything! You're the best bridesmaid anyone ever had, and the best sister, too." She hugged me fiercely.

"You're very welcome, Bella."

She gave the rest of the family the same treatment. Then Edward took her hand and led her to the door.

"Bella! You forgot something!" I said, pressing her bouquet into her hands. "Single ladies only, please!"

Tanya, Kate, and Irina gathered a short distance from the door, and Bella tossed the bouquet, in a high arc that would have eluded human wedding guests. They all leapt for it at once, but Tanya snagged it. She held the flowers up in mock triumph, and we cheered her immoderately before turning back to follow Edward and Bella out the front door, showering them with rice on their way to the car and calling out goodbyes as they drove away.

"Are they actually going on a honeymoon?" Kate asked.

"Yes, a little one," I said. "Edward's taking her on a road trip. He wanted her to see New York City, and from there they're going to the seaside."

"The beach in July?" Tanya asked skeptically. "Do they plan to stay indoors the entire time?"

"If they go to the right spot, they'll have two completely overcast days. Constantly cloudy, but warm and dry. I gave Edward a detailed weather report earlier this week," I explained. "Not to mention one or two beaches they can visit after dark." I'd foreseen a very blissful moonlight swim off the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Carmen asked hesitantly, "When does she intend to, ah…?"

"When they return," Carlisle said. "A few weeks, at most."

"Well, she's a sweet, brave girl, and will be a welcome addition to the family."

"I think she was a little tipsy toward the end," Irina said, grinning.

"Well, Emmett kept giving her champagne, and she's not used to it," I said.

Rose laughed. "It's odd, she actually stumbled _less_ often drunk."

"I kind of like her plastered," Emmett chuckled. "Just before they left, she told me how much she'd always wanted a big brother like me."

Jasper smiled. "She told me much the same thing."

"She told _me_ she knew we'd end up being good friends," Rosalie said. "I doubt she'd have done _that_ cold sober."

"She also told Esme she was a little ashamed that she liked her and Carlisle a tiny bit more than her real parents," I remarked. "She was just full of interesting revelations tonight."

"_In vino veritas_," Jasper murmured.

"It's nice. Carlisle's family is all paired up at long last," Tanya observed. "Maybe that means there's hope for the three of us."

Her sisters laughed, and we returned to the important business of dancing.


	5. Now For Something Completely Different

The wedding celebration continued after the bride and groom had departed, and finally broke up around four. The three sisters departed for their hotel, and Esme and Carlisle escorted Carmen and Eleazar to the little house on our adjoining property. They returned a few minutes later.

"The house wasn't really ready for guests," Esme said, "but I suppose it'll do."

"Why were you fixing up the cottage?" Rosalie asked her. "Was it just for fun, or did you have a purpose in mind?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I was thinking of it for Edward and Bella. I know they have their own house in town, but the cottage would give them some privacy while keeping them nearby."

"Aha." Rose grinned at her. "Don't like your babies too far from home, hmm?"

"No, I don't," Esme said firmly.

"She'll need to be nearby anyway, after she's been changed," I said.

"That's true."

"There's still time to lay down a wager, brother," Emmett said to Jasper.

"What are you two betting on now?" Esme asked.

"How Bella does in the first six months. She's too well behaved right now. It can't last. My theory is she'll flip out and solve the Dartmouth student housing crisis single handed, and we'll all have to make an emergency move to Lappland until things die down."

Jasper shook his head. "Alice sees her under control, even in the early days, and I know better than to bet against Alice."

"I don't see you betting _for _Alice," Emmett pointed out.

"Fine," Jasper said complacently. "I don't mind taking your money."

Carlisle shook his head at them and headed for the stairs. Esme followed him up. I wandered through the ground floor, picking up the odd flower petal or grain of rice that had been left behind. I paused to look ahead, into Edward's future, then Bella's. I knew better than to look at details of their honeymoon, but I wanted to be sure they would make it to the coast and back safely. Sure enough, all was well. I got a glimpse of them swimming together under a cloudy sky, affectionate and happy. Bella was wearing the black and white bikini I'd put in her luggage. I smiled and stopped watching; I'm a good girl, I am!

The stakes of their wager established, Jasper and Emmett shook hands; then Emmett called out, "Good night!" as he flung Rosalie, laughing, over his shoulder and ran up the stairs.

Jasper touched my face lightly. "Shall we follow their example?" I kissed him, and he swept me into his arms and dashed up the steps to our own room.

The next morning a few of us went into Edward and Bella's deserted house in Hanover - with their permission - to tidy up, as Esme put it. Not that any heavy cleaning was called for, but I wanted to make a couple of additions to Bella's closet; Esme discarded the flowers and rearranged the furniture a little. Rosalie followed me to the bedroom. "Oh, she left her cell phone behind," Rose noted, picking it up from the nightstand.

"Well, Edward has his with him. Here," I said, "put these in her dresser." I handed her a couple of cashmere sweaters.

Rosalie opened a drawer at random. "They have _four _electric heating pads! What's that about? Does Bella have bad circulation or something?"

I giggled. "Marital aids." She stared at me. "Edward's too cold for comfort. He probably needs to warm up first."

She laughed. "I never thought of that aspect of it. I wonder how the three sisters manage."

"Good question. I'm sure they'd be happy to tell us if we ask."

I took a quick peek ahead and saw Edward and Bella arriving back here, safe and sound. Then I virtuously stopped scanning their future. They deserved their privacy.

The days that followed were like old times. The Denalis stayed on, searching the area for a new place to live, one that was closer to their dear darling cousins. They had been looking into real estate in New Hampshire and eastern Vermont, and we took turns going along on trips to check out potential properties. Meanwhile, Tanya was working with Jasper on a new cover story for all of them. A family consisting of one man and four young women, with a comfortable lifestyle and no obvious source of income, required some explanation.

It was almost three weeks after the wedding, and I was on my way back from hunting with Jasper, feeling happy and self-satisfied. It had been a nice, long hunting trip, just the two of us, and involved more than just hunting. We were walking back to the house, holding hands, and I decided to take just the tiniest peek ahead. I wanted to know when Edward and Bella might be getting back home. I stopped short where I was. "What's wrong, Pepita?" Jasper asked, but I just shook my head. I couldn't see a thing.

I began searching further afield, looking further into the future, but it was no use. Bella had completely disappeared.

Jasper felt my panic, and calmed me to the point where I could answer him. "She's gone. Bella. I can't see her!"

He seemed ready to ask more questions, but instead said, "Let's get back to the house. Whatever's going on, we'll want to talk to the others." I agreed, and we ran at top speed, arriving home seconds later. I felt marginally better, just being there. "Carlisle!" Jasper called, the second we were in the door. He appeared, Esme behind him. "There's a problem."

Esme looked at me, probably knowing from my expression that things were bad; then went to the back door and called Rosalie and Emmett in from the garage. We all gathered, automatically, near the antique dining table. "What's going on?" Emmett asked.

"Bella's disappeared." I kept scanning compulsively, even though I knew there was nothing to see.

"By disappeared," Carlisle said, "I assume you mean you can no longer see her future?"

"Yes. There's nothing there. She just vanished."

"Did you try to phone her?"

"No. She left her cell at home."

Carlisle opened his cell phone and hit a number. After a moment, he spoke. "Edward, please call me when you get this message. It's rather urgent."

"He never leaves his phone off," Esme said nervously.

"Well, they _are_ on their honeymoon," Emmett replied.

Carlisle took Esme's hand, rubbing it soothingly. "We'll see if he calls back. Meanwhile, Alice, can you give us more information? Do you have any reason to believe Bella is hurt or in trouble?"

"No, it's not like that. I'd see her getting hurt. Even if…if she died, I'd see her death. Right now I can't see anything at all. It's just blank."

"Do you have any explanation?"

"I don't know. The only time anything like this happened was when we were dealing with the werewolves."

I could almost feel everyone tense. "Not just the wolves themselves, but anyone immediately involved with them," Jasper remarked.

"Right. Bella's future vanished completely that whole day she was on the reserve with them." I'd really hated that. It was a relief when she arrived back home, and her future started becoming visible again.

Carlisle looked concerned. "Then I suppose our working theory must be that the werewolves are involved."

"But they're back in Washington," I protested.

"As far as we know, they are. One or more of them may have come here for some reason."

"You think they came after Bella?" Emmett asked. "Maybe changed their minds about letting her join us?"

Carlisle shook his head. "I doubt they'd go back on their word. Their purpose may be completely benevolent. Perhaps they have a message for her."

"Wouldn't they just phone?" Rosalie asked.

"Most likely; but if something had happened to her father, for example, they might want to inform her in person."

"I hope that's not it," Esme said faintly.

I frowned. "Her future _might _disappear even if they contacted her from a distance, if she became directly involved with them in some way." I couldn't speak with any authority; my experience with the werewolves had been brief. I hated this uncertainty.

"This is all speculation," Carlisle said. "We can find out more after we hear from Edward. I'm sure it's no use telling you not to worry; but there's no reason, at this point, to assume anything is wrong."

Esme nodded, looking distracted.

"Alice, I'm sure you'll let us know if you see anything."

"Of course."

The meeting broke up. I stood for a time, scanning ahead for any sign of Bella, and continuing to come up blank. Jasper finally took me into his lap, holding me quietly while I searched.

Carmen and Eleazar came back to the house an hour later, and were filled in. They were concerned but calm. Mid morning, Tanya and her sisters turned up. They were less calm.

"You mean those _creatures_ are back in the picture?" Irina exclaimed.

"I thought you'd left them behind, out west," Tanya said to Carlisle.

"As far as we know, we _have_ left them behind," Carlisle told her calmly. "We don't know why Alice suddenly became unable to see Bella. The wolves had that effect, but there could be other causes we're unaware of."

"Could I be losing my sight?" I asked nobody in particular.

"No," Eleazar said confidently. "I see no sign of that; your gift is as well established as ever. Unless, of course," he added with a smile, "I am losing _my_ gift." I managed to give him a tiny smile back.

Carlisle's cell rang, and he reached it and flipped it open before the ring tone had finished sounding. "Edward?"

I heard Edward's voice through the earpiece. "Yes. What's wrong, Carlisle?"

Carlisle hesitated. "I was hoping you could tell us." We were all standing quietly, listening.

"Excuse me?"

"Is Bella all right?"

"Bella? Yes, she's fine." He sounded a little less than certain; or maybe I was imagining things. "Why? Did Alice see something?"

"In a way, yes."

"What is it?" Edward sounded agitated now.

"I…think, perhaps, it would be best if you came home."

"Carlisle, tell me what's going on!"

Carlisle filled him in. "Have you or Bella heard from the Quileutes?"

"I haven't, and I don't think Bella has." We heard him turn away from the phone and speak, and Bella's voice, faintly, in the background. It was a tremendous relief to hear her. "No," Edward said into the phone. "She's been in touch with Rachel Black by email, but that's all. Nothing out of the ordinary passed between them."

"I see. If you don't mind, Edward…"

"Yes, we should still come back. We need to figure this out."

"Where are you?"

"Near Boston. We can be there in three to four hours."

"Good. We'll see you soon, son. Give our love to Bella." Carlisle clicked the phone shut and stood still a moment, thinking.

"Is there anything we can do?" Esme asked.

He shook his head. "Not until we have more information. However, it might be a good idea to have a room prepared, if it is not already."

"You think Bella will need to stay in the house?"

"I don't know. I'm considering the possibility that Bella is ill, and that may explain why Alice sees her future vanish. I know that's not normally the way your gift works," he said to me as I started to speak, "but we have no other hypothesis to work with at the moment."

We talked about it, off and on, over the next four hours and seventeen minutes. I kept reflexively looking for Bella's future, and the shock of seeing nothing at all didn't diminish much. Jasper put his arms around me and tried to calm me. "You have to stop worrying. It won't do Bella any good, _mi hada_."

"I know. It's so hard, wondering what will happen to her. She can't just disappear!" My voice rose.

"Bella hasn't disappeared," Jasper told me, his voice low and soothing. "You heard her yourself, on the telephone. She's still there. She's riding in the car with Edward, on her way home, at this moment. Something's keeping you from seeing her future, but that doesn't mean she's gone."

"I know. I'm trying to keep that in mind. It's just so scary, having her future vanish like that."

He held me tight and talked, trying to distract me, until we heard the sound of Edward's Volvo coming up the road. "Oh, thank Heaven, they're here!" Esme said, opening the door as Edward approached, his arm protectively around Bella's shoulders. They were both greeted and hugged, the welcome not as festive as might otherwise have been the case, but warm. Bella let herself be embraced, smiled and greeted everyone, but her expression was just a little off. She looked nervous, which was reasonable enough; but also wary and defiant. Jasper tilted his head quizzically, looking at her, obviously sizing up her emotional climate; and Edward looked sharply in Jasper's direction, then at Bella, as he received Jasper's take on her emotions.

Greetings over, we got into a huddle to decide our course of action. The Denali remained with us and listened, but withdrew from the actual meeting, respecting our family's autonomy. Carlisle asked Edward and Bella about their travels, any unusual occurrences they may have had, however trivial. Nothing unexpected seemed to have happened. He questioned Bella about her health, in particular if she had noticed any recent changes. Edward spoke up. "She's felt a little queasy recently. She was sick yesterday, while I was away from the hotel." He looked over at Bella, who was keeping her eyes fixed on Carlisle.

"Yes," she said, "a little. I think it was something I ate. I feel fine now."

"No other symptoms?" Carlisle asked.

"No."

"Well," Edward said, "she's been sleeping more than usual, and more soundly."

Emmett started to make an off-colour joke about the possible cause of her fatigue, but fell quiet when Carlisle looked at him. "All right. Bella, if you have no objection, I'd like to do a cursory exam, and rule out any physical problems."

Bella looked nervously at Edward, then quickly looked away. It was odd; she seemed almost afraid of him. "Sure. Where?"

"Your room upstairs, if you like."

"That would be fine." She stood, then paused a moment. "Will Edward be there?"

Carlisle smiled reassuringly. "Of course."

"Is it…would it be okay if Esme stays with me, too?"

"Esme?" Carlisle looked at her.

"I'd be happy to, dear, if you like."

"And…and Rosalie? Would you come with me, too?" she asked, now looking genuinely nervous. "Please?"

"All right, if you want." Rosalie glanced at Edward, who shrugged, and all four of them trooped upstairs with Bella.

"That's odd," Jasper said quietly. "It's like she's…" He broke off, but Edward apparently heard the rest of the unfinished sentence, and looked uneasily from Jasper to Bella as he climbed the steps.

"Is she okay?" I asked quietly.

"Scared," he said.

"That's only natural," Tanya suggested.

"Yes, but it's…wrong. She feels the presence of enemies. She's defensive. She wants Rosalie and Esme there for protection."

"That makes no sense at all, Jasper," Irina said. "She's never been afraid of us before." He just shook his head.

Upstairs, we could hear Carlisle talking to Bella, his very voice reassuring, as he examined her eyes, her reflexes. We heard him take her blood pressure, then say _hmm_ to himself.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"There's something irregular about her heartbeat."

"Wouldn't I have noticed?"

"It's very minute. I didn't notice it myself until I took her blood pressure. There's a faint, additional pulse, like a slight heart murmur. Bella, I'm going to listen to your heart, if I may."

"Sure." Her voice sounded a little strained. I couldn't stand it any more. I dashed up the stairs and stood in the corridor, watching through the bedroom door. Bella, oddly enough, was hanging onto Rosalie's hand.

Carlisle bent his head close to Bella's chest and listened. He stood up again, frowning, then bent once more, listening more closely. After a moment, he shifted, until he seemed to be listening to her abdomen. Edward watched him, mystified.

I could see an idea enter Carlisle's mind. He murmured, "Lord save us!" and straightened up, looking down at Bella. Edward seemed to hear Carlisle's thoughts, and whispered "No!" He stared at Carlisle in shock.

"I can hear it quite clearly, Edward," Carlisle said.

"It's not possible!" Edward was staring at Bella in horror.

"_What's_ not possible?" Rosalie demanded.

"I can't believe I did this to her!" Edward clutched at his hair. "How could this even happen?"

Carlisle patted his shoulder. "I had no idea such a thing could occur, Edward. I would certainly have warned you."

"What is it?" Esme asked, looking from one to another with a frightened expression. "What's wrong with Bella?"

Edward seemed unable to speak. Carlisle turned to her. "She's pregnant."

I could hear everyone in the house gasp. As well they might. Pregnant? The only one who didn't seem shocked was Bella. Edward finally took in this fact.

"You _knew_?" he said to her.

She shrugged. "I kind of figured it out, just before you got Carlisle's message."

Edward frowned. "Just before I got Carlisle's message, you were sound asleep." She shrugged again.

Carlisle became brisk and professional. He asked Bella about her monthly cycles, the onset of the nausea and fatigue, and any other symptoms she might have experienced. She admitted to bizarre, unusually vivid dreams. With her permission, Carlisle laid a hand on her stomach and pressed gently. He seemed a little shocked at the results. "You believe the conception took place in the last few weeks, while you were away?"

Bella nodded. "It must have."

"Forgive me, but is it at all possible that it took place earlier?"

Bella blushed and shook her head.

"In that case," Carlisle glanced at Edward, "the pregnancy is developing at a much faster rate than normal. At the moment, Bella seems to be at the stage equivalent to about twenty weeks' gestation."

"Twenty weeks!"

"You can actually discern a slight distension of the abdomen," Carlisle pointed out, "and the fundus is palpable." Edward stared at Bella's stomach. Well, we all did.

"I thought it was just…" Edward hesitated.

Bella laughed. "Edward's been taking me to all these fancy restaurants. He probably thought I was putting on weight."

"In fact," Carlisle said, "you look a little thinner overall than when you left. Is the nausea decreasing?"

"To tell the truth, it's getting worse," Bella admitted. "I'm starting to have trouble keeping food down."

"But what is it she's pregnant with?" Rosalie burst out. "Is it a human baby?"

"It can't be human," Edward said. "Not if I'm the cause. It's nothing she's meant to be carrying. Carlisle, can we deal with it safely?"

"Terminate the pregnancy, you mean?"

"Yes, of course. Obviously she can't go on like this. The rapid growth alone would be dangerous, let alone whatever other threat that thing presents."

"I could do the procedure here without any difficulty."

"No," Bella said faintly. They both turned to her. "I don't want to…terminate. I want to have the baby."

Edward looked, if possible, more shocked than before. "Bella, love, this isn't a _baby_. You heard Carlisle. It's growing at ten times the normal rate!"

"It's not a regular human baby, I know. He's half human and half vampire. Maybe growing this fast is normal for him."

"But this is not normal for you, Bella. We have no idea what it might do to you."

"It hasn't done anything bad so far," she protested.

"It's made you sick and exhausted."

"But those are normal pregnancy symptoms, aren't they? Pregnant women get nauseous, they get tired. There's nothing sinister about it."

"Bella, be reasonable. This is a completely unknown situation. Any vampire traits it might possess are, by definition, a threat to you. The risks are enormous. You can't take that kind of chance with your life."

"You don't know that it's such a big chance, Edward."

"No, I don't! I have no idea, and I can't accept that kind of risk."

"_I'll_ accept the risk," she said. She sounded determined.

"Bella, I can't let you risk your life over some misguided sense of obligation to…I'm not even going to argue about it. It's impossible. We have to act, and soon."

"Edward, no!"

"I'm sorry, love. I have no choice." He turned to Carlisle.

"Rosalie!" Bella said urgently, clutching her hand. "Esme! Please, don't let them do this! Please!"

Everyone froze in shock. Only Bella remained in motion, looking from one to another, like a living being with a group of statues. She still held Rosalie's hand in her right hand; now she reached out and grasped Esme's hand in her left. "Don't let them force me!" she pleaded.

Rosalie inhaled sharply, becoming animated again. "No. Of course they won't force you. I won't let them." Her expression was one of grim determination. She put an arm around Bella, looking defiantly at Edward.

Jasper appeared beside me, taking a position just a little ahead of me and keeping an eye on the bedroom door. I thought he was being ridiculously overprotective. This was hardly going to turn into a brawl! Then I looked at the expression on Edward's face, and I wasn't so sure.

"Rosalie, this is none of your business," Edward snapped.

"No, but it's Bella's business. Unfortunately, she's in no position to defend her decision. Someone has to stand up for her. And she _asked _me for help."

Bella sat on the bed between them, looking miserable. "I'm so sorry," she said to Edward. "I don't want to cause a rift in the family, but…Rosalie is right. I can't defend myself if you try to take this out of my hands. I need somebody on my side, and on _his_ side."

"'His'?" Edward repeated.

She placed a hand on her belly. "He's our child, Edward. I didn't expect this, any more than you did; but now that it's happened, I have to at least give him a chance."

What followed was not pretty. Edward ranted and pleaded, but Bella held her ground. Frustrated, he took out his anger on Rosalie, accusing her of backing Bella just to spite him, of letting Bella die out of envy. Rosalie, in turn, told Edward he was a cowardly, manipulative control freak. They snarled at each other. Emmett hovered nearby, uneasy but hesitating to intervene. Esme unexpectedly took Rosalie's side, insisting that it would be wrong to take away Bella's choice in this, no matter how concerned they were. Edward started to rail against Esme, but stopped himself before he said anything he'd seriously regret.

Carlisle tried to mediate, and the argument died down for the moment. "May I suggest an interim plan? I would like to try and find out as much about the pregnancy as possible. The more information we have, the better we can make an informed decision, and the better we can provide care for Bella." He listed the tests he intended to perform. When Bella hesitated, he added, "You can keep Rosalie with you at all times, if you like. Esme as well."

"All right." Having something useful to do seemed to calm the combatants a little. Carlisle prepared the equipment he'd need while Edward and Rosalie remained firmly entrenched on opposite sides of Bella's bed. I descended the stairs and Jasper, seeing he wasn't needed at the moment, followed me.

The Denali family were standing together in the living room, wide eyed. "Good heavens," Carmen whispered. "What a horrible situation!"

"Have you ever heard of anything like this happening?" Jasper asked them.

"No, never," Eleazar answered. "I would have said it was impossible."

"i can still hardly believe it," Tanya said. "That poor girl!"

"Can she survive it?" Kate asked. "I mean, what happens when it's time for it to be born?"

We looked at each other. We didn't know, of course, but it didn't look promising. No scenario in which a vampire, or half vampire, was living inside a human being was likely to end well, at least not for the human.

"Is there any way to find out?" Jasper asked. "Any starting point, however uncertain?"

"Well," Eleazar said doubtfully, "there are stories. Mere folk tales."

"I've heard some as well," Irina said. "But they're not likely to be helpful."

"Legends can arise from initial facts," Jasper said. "It might give us something to work with."

Eleazar shrugged. "There are old stories about the incubus, resembling an ordinary man except for his coldness, who would lie with a human woman and get her with child."

"That's the kind of thing I meant," Jasper said. "What would happen to the human women, in these stories?"

"According to one version, she would give birth to an invisible spirit baby."

"I see."

"In stories from our birthplace," Irina said, "male vampires would impregnate human women, who would give birth to a child with both human and vampire qualities."

"And the mother?"

"In all the tales I heard, she would die. The child would drink her blood, or she would die from loss of blood at the time of the birth."

Jasper nodded thoughtfully, and went to the computer. He spent a few minutes trying to run down other stories of that kind, from various cultures, while the cousins or I gave suggestions and discussed the results. From upstairs, I could hear the examination conclude and Carlisle discussing the situation with the others. They sounded calmer, at least. I could see Jazz was keeping track of the emotions emanating from the second floor, but he seemed to have relaxed a little. I looked at him, glancing questioningly up to the ceiling, and he nodded, giving me a slight smile. All under control for now.

While we were still at the computer, Bella came back downstairs, preceded by Carlisle and Esme, and flanked by her two rival bodyguards, each holding one of her arms and watching each other like hawks. She sat down on the couch between them, looking uncomfortable. Carlisle approached us at the computer. "I heard your research efforts."

Jasper shrugged. "It may not reveal anything factual."

"No, but we don't have many options. It's a good idea. I might suggest looking into the legends of the Brazilian Indian tribes. They have some interesting tales."

Tanya looked hesitantly from Edward to Bella. Edward replied to her thoughts. "Bella is fine, for now," he said, in a dull voice. "We were unable to discover much. Carlisle wants to try and do an ultrasound."

Esme made lunch, and Bella went into the kitchen to eat, Edward and Rosalie staying with her. "We have to make preparations," Carlisle said quietly. "If the rate of development is what it seems to be, the birth would be expected in no more than two weeks. It will have to take place here."

"You don't even know what the birth will involve," Emmett said.

"No, I have no idea what to expect. Let's hope I have more information soon."

I heard Bella suddenly jump to her feet and run out of the kitchen, into the ground floor powder room. The unmistakable sounds of vomiting could be heard from there.

"There may be other issues as well," Carlisle said. "She's unable to eat. That could present a problem."

Edward rejoined us in the living room. His face was bleak, and Jasper winced as he approached. Whatever anxiety I was feeling about Bella must be amplified unbearably in Edward. Impulsively, I hugged him. _It'll be all right_, I thought. _Carlisle will take good care of her. He'll find a way. _

He patted my shoulder briefly in response, but didn't look as if he believed it. I wasn't at all sure, myself.

The next two weeks crawled by, one awful minute after another. Bella's little tummy bulge grew at an astonishing rate, while the rest of her body diminished. Since she wasn't able to keep any food down, the fetus took what it needed from her fat stores, which hadn't been that substantial to begin with. She was starving for two.

Things got worse when it became big enough to kick. Obviously much stronger than any human fetus, it would batter Bella painfully, and bruising started to appear on her torso.

Edward had argued with her at first, trying every means to convince her to put an end to this. Bella had responded with dogged determination. I'm sure he would have found a way to get it done without her consent, had it not been for Rosalie standing constant guard over her, making sure nobody could move Bella without instigating a very dangerous tug-of-war. In the end, he stopped trying. He stayed close to Bella, trying to keep her comfortable, to find ways to help her eat and drink, and whenever she slept, watching her intently. We all felt his fear and desperation; Jasper could hardly bear to be around him.

Carlisle set up an IV so Bella could have some limited sustenance and avoid becoming dehydrated. Nothing seemed to help with the constant sickness. I don't remember ever feeling nausea, but it must be horrible, all your instincts to take in nourishment abruptly and violently reversed like that. Bella was becoming exhausted, and slept more all the time, in short, uneasy naps both day and night.

I stopped making any attempt to dress her. Jasper could sense her discomfort with even slightly stiff or restrictive clothing. I borrowed some of Emmett's cotton sweats, which were big enough for a pregnant woman, and also soft enough for her oversensitive skin.

Meanwhile, we were all researching anything we could find on situations like Bella's. Obviously, it was a challenge, sifting through superstition and folklore for the occasional nugget of truth or half-truth.

Bella didn't seem to resent Edward's attempt to bypass her consent. She wasn't going to allow it, by any means, but she was as loving toward him as ever. As the days passed, and she grew thinner and weaker, they spent more and more time just sitting close together, looking into each other's eyes, the presence of the ever-vigilant Rosalie completely forgotten. They were each looking at the one thing they couldn't live without. I knew that look very well. Clearly, Bella had no wish to leave Edward behind if it could be helped.

The only time Bella reproached Edward at all was when he made some caustic remark about the fetus, and how much pain its existence had caused. Rosalie glared at him, which was to be expected. What was more surprising was Bella's response. "Don't ever say that."

"What?" Edward asked, startled by the edge in her voice.

"He didn't mean to cause all this trouble. He's just existing. Just an innocent baby. Please don't blame him for all this." Edward nodded, a little grudgingly, but she turned his face, making him look directly at her. "Edward…I don't want this baby to _ever_ feel like he wasn't wanted, that we were sorry he came to be. I know what that's like. This is our child. I love him, because he's part of _you_. Can't you try to love him because he's part of me? Please, no matter how this…turns out, don't ever let him feel that way."

Edward stared at her a long moment before speaking. "I'll…do my best. I promise, love."

She settled back down on the sofa, her head on his shoulder. When she fell asleep, and Jasper could feel free of any obligation to monitor the emotional climate, he suggested we go and hunt. Neither Edward nor Rosalie had hunted since the newlyweds had come home, but the rest of us went out in twos or threes, wanting to keep most of the family close by at all times. Jazz and I ran into the nearby state park, a small park with few large predators but an ample deer population, and ran down two bucks almost immediately. It was the first time in a week I'd stopped worrying about Bella. The second I stopped drinking, I remembered, and scanned ahead for her future. Nothing.

"Leave it alone, Alice," Jasper advised me gently. "You'll make yourself crazy for nothing."

I tried to follow his advice. "How is she coping? She seems so calm on the outside."

He shrugged. "She's worried, of course. Concerned for Edward, and for all of us. A little afraid. She's also optimistic, at least most of the time. Her determination hasn't flagged for a moment. It's odd, though," he mused.

"What is?"

"She has this underlying feeling of…bliss, I suppose you'd call it. It's very faint, and it doesn't seem to be connected to anything actually going on around her. Even when there's conflict, or she's nauseous or in pain, the feeling is always there, like background static."

"Weird. Maybe she's just happy about the baby? Or delirious?"

He shook his head, looking dissatisfied.

"What about Rosalie?" I asked him. "I'm a little worried about her."

"Why?"

"I hate to even suggest this, but…you know how much she regrets never being able to have children. Is she so determined to keep this one alive just so she'll have a chance? Is Bella's safety really her first priority?"

He smiled at me. "I'm sure you're not the only one it occurred to. No, I don't think that's it. Her emotions are complicated where the pregnancy is concerned, but her feelings toward the child are not particularly possessive. She feels protective of it, affectionate and nurturing, but I don't think she regards it as hers, even potentially. Besides, her feelings toward Bella are equally protective, even maternal."

"Really?" That was a bit of a shock.

"Yes. It's as if, since she can't be a mother, she's accepted the role of grandmother."

"That's kind of a relief. Er, I suppose Edward is…?"

He shuddered. "I can't seem to have much effect on his emotions. They're too deep seated, I suppose. If Bella doesn't get through this alive…"

"I know," I said. "We'll lose him, too." I clung to him a moment, barely able to think about it. Then we started for home.

When we got back, Bella was awake and had made a startling suggestion. "Alice, Jasper, you might want to leave the house again for a short time," Carlisle said. He was carrying plastic containers of donor blood, which he'd ordered and set aside in preparation for any birth related complications. Even through the heavy plastic, the scent was powerful. Jasper was holding his breath.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Is Bella getting a transfusion?"

"Of a sort. She woke up with a rather interesting idea." He looked over at Bella.

"It was just something I dreamed about," she said. "I saw a little boy. He was thirsty, and kept holding a mug out to me to fill. I found a pitcher of milk, and poured some into his cup, but when he went to drink it, it had turned red. Then I realized." She looked at Edward, who smiled down at her. He seemed marginally less despairing than before.

"She realized that the fetus, as half vampire, might not be hungry so much as _thirsty_."

"Oh! You mean Bella's going to drink it?"

"I'm going to try," she said grimly.

Rosalie was in the kitchen, getting out a drinking glass. "Anybody who wants to clear out, do it now. I'm opening the bag."

Jasper caught my eye. "We're going," I said. "Good luck, Bella." Esme, Emmett, Carmen and Eleazar joined us. We ran until we were well out of range of the scent, then milled around, talking of random things. "Can this really work?" I asked. "I mean, Bella's not a vampire."

"It's a possibility, and we can't afford not to try," Esme said.

We stood quietly then, thinking our own thoughts. About fifteen minutes later, Tanya caught up with us. She was looking cheerful. "You should come back to the house," she said. "They're done."

"Done? She drank it?"

"Finished a cup, and asked for more. She said it smelled wonderful."

Esme looked hopeful. "Then perhaps she was right. That was what the fetus needed. Why else would she want to drink blood?"

"That's the assumption. Carlisle's ordering more blood."

We ran back to the house together. Maybe there was a chance, after all. Maybe Bella could get through this alive.

She was sitting up on the sofa, looking remarkably well by current standards. She looked less tired, and there was a little colour in her cheeks. She smiled when we came in.

"Sorry to clear everybody out like that."

"Don't worry about it." I crouched down in front of her. "How do you feel?"

"I feel good," she said, smiling. "It's a nice change."

I laughed with happiness. "So you're the only non-vegetarian in the family! First underaged drinking, and now this! Shame on you." She laughed with me. It was lovely to hear.

"It was smart of Bella to figure this out," Rosalie commented. "She'll be fine now."

"It's not that certain, Rose," Carlisle said. "She still requires nourishment. I hope the blood will at least allow her system to accept human food now. Bella, do you think you could eat?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm actually kind of hungry."

Esme jumped up. "What would you like, dear?"

The only thing Bella seemed to want, then and for the rest of the day, was scrambled eggs. We happily provided them. As long as Bella had access to blood, she was able to take in food as well. Eventually she branched out and accepted other meals, and kept them down, too.

We became more optimistic about her chances, and began to make plans. The vampire baby folklore was minimal help, but it was enough to make us cautious about the actual birth. Carlisle suggested that the delivery be done by Cesarean section as soon as the pregnancy was full term. "A little early would be best," he said. "The accounts we've heard suggest that the birth process in such cases would be extremely dangerous."

"You can do the procedure here?" Edward asked.

"Yes. I would appreciate your help, if you think you can manage it."

"Of course."

"In that case, you should hunt first." Edward stiffened. "For Bella's safety, it would be best."

Edward looked down at Bella. "I will, then. Just before the procedure. Not yet." He hated leaving her, even for a minute, at this point. I could understand that.

Bella spoke up. "If things should go wrong…" Edward got that shut-down look on his face again, and she took his hand, looking at him apologetically. "If they do, I want you to promise you won't hesitate to change me." Edward looked at her in surprise. "Edward, you might think I have some kind of death wish to even be doing this, but I want to pull through, and go on being your wife. If you still have any reluctance about changing me, please get over it now. It might be the only thing that will let me survive the baby's birth."

"I know." Edward looked at her. "I promise. If you're in danger, I won't hesitate. And if I don't do it, I'm sure Carlisle will."

"Absolutely," Carlisle confirmed.

Carlisle had obtained the necessary medical equipment, some by legitimate means, some illegally. The bedroom set aside for Edward and Bella was turned into a surgery, and everything waited for the day.

The down side of Bella's new diet was that the fetus became stronger and healthier at the same time Bella did. It started kicking more, and harder, and was now large enough to crack ribs when it did. Edward's level of alarm went back up, Rosalie's rationalizations became more elaborate and less connected with reality, and Bella was turning black and blue. Edward wanted Carlisle to do the delivery right away, but Bella still insisted on waiting until her pregnancy was equivalent to thirty-eight weeks, not wanting to take chances with a premature birth. We knew the danger was considerable at this point. A fetus with vampire strength could easily kick hard enough to kill her.

Edward had a little breakthrough of his own, before we were done. He was sitting on the couch with Bella as usual, Edward on her right, Rosalie on her left, and talking to her about their honeymoon trip. As Bella was talking, Edward let his hand rest on her enormous belly. She paused, and Edward frowned. "Bella? Can you think that again?"

"Think what?" she asked, confused.

He looked at her intently. "I'm not sure. Could you please think of something very specific? Count by fives, if you would."

She frowned. "Okay." She watched him.

"Are you counting in your mind?"

"Yes! What's going on?"

"For a second, I thought I could hear you, but it wasn't…" He stopped, and unexpectedly looked down at Bella's swollen stomach. His mouth fell open as if in amazement.

"Edward! What's happening."

"It…the fetus…likes your voice."

Her eyes popped open. "You can _hear_ him?" Her voice rose, and a second later she winced. Another swift kick.

"You startled him." Edward placed both hands on her abdomen. Rosalie was watching them both in shocked silence. Well, we _all_ were.

"Oh! I'm sorry, little baby." She put her hands over Edward's. "I'm sorry, little EJ! I won't startle you, and you won't kick me, okay?" She looked back at Edward, eager. "What else can you hear?"

"Nothing in words," he said, stroking Bella's stomach tenderly. "Just non-verbal thoughts, perceptions. He's…he's happy." Tears began running down Bella's face. "Perfectly happy, and he…loves you."

"Oh!" She sniffed, patting her own belly. "I love you too, little EJ. We both do." She looked at Edward for confirmation, and he smiled weakly. There was no way he could hate someone who loved Bella.

"He absolutely adores you." To the surprise of all, Edward lay his head gently down on Bella's stomach, and began singing softly as Bella stroked his hair, singing an old lullaby. Clearly, he was singing to _it_. Rosalie watched them a moment, then removed the arm she'd kept protectively around Bella every single second Edward was with them. It was as obvious to her as to any of us that the little creature no longer required protecting, at least, not from Edward.

I didn't want to intrude on the moment with trivial questions. Later, after Bella's dinner, supplementary blood, and afternoon nap, I asked. "Bella, why did you call the…the baby EJ?" She looked embarrassed, and I added, "If you don't mind my asking."

"No, it's okay. I was trying to come up with names. I didn't think Edward would want to participate." She looked at him uncertainly.

He smiled wryly. "No, I don't suppose I would have. What names were you thinking of? E for Elvis?" he joked. It was amazing to hear him joking again.

"No! E for Edward." She met his eyes. "Your father's name was Edward, too, wasn't it?"

"Yes." He touched her face tenderly. "And the J?"

"For Junior, of course. Edward, Junior. Are you okay with that?"

"If that's what you want." He kissed her.

"But," Rosalie said, "what if it's a girl? Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not much. I had one idea. Putting together the grandmothers' names, Esme's and my mom's. Ruh-nez-may?"

"Say what, now?" Emmett said.

She spelled it out. "What do you think?" she asked Edward.

He seemed at a loss for words.

"It's certainly unusual," Rosalie said tentatively.

"Too weird, maybe?"

We looked at each other. "Maybe," I said. I didn't want to upset Bella, especially in her condition, but who the hell names a baby girl Renesmee?

"Did you have a second choice?" Edward asked.

"Not really. I'm kind of convinced I'm having a boy, anyway."

"Dear, if you like the idea of using grandparents' names," Esme said, "it might be more appropriate to use human grandparents. As much as I appreciate the gesture, I'm not actually Edward's mother."

"You are in every way that matters," Edward said.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said, placing a hand on Edward's head a moment. "But…if you plan to give a boy the name of Edward, Senior…"

"We could name the boy Edward Charles," Bella suggested. "After your father and mine."

Edward nodded. "Yes, that's perfect. And if it's a girl, we could name her Renee Elizabeth, or Elizabeth Renee."

"I like Elizabeth Renee," Bella mused.

"You know," Emmett said, "if you'd name a boy after his father, why not name a girl after her mother? The baby could be Bella, Junior."

"I don't know," Bella said. "I'm kind of liking the grandparent idea."

"Actually," Carlisle put in, "the name Isabella is a form of Elizabeth; so in a way, she would have her mother's name as well."

"So the baby would be Elizabeth, Junior," Emmett suggested. "Boy or girl, it would still be EJ."

EJ it was. And so the weird baby name crisis was averted. I could only hope the next crisis would be dodged as easily.


	6. From Bella to Bellisima

Once Edward had figured out that the…that EJ was alert and responsive, rather eerily beyond the level of a fetus, he started working on getting the little critter to stop kicking. By using a combination of alarmed voices and hand pressure whenever it tried to kick (No, EJ! Stop!) and soothing voices or singing when it held still, he eventually managed to get the message through. EJ lay low and stopped breaking Bella's ribs from that time forward.

We were all feeling hopeful. Edward had convinced Bella to move the surgery back to the thirty-seven week equivalent, which was coming up fast. Carlisle had somehow obtained anesthetic gas along with surgical instruments and more blood.

On the day before the procedure was scheduled, Bella sent her parents each a long, cheery, largely inaccurate email account of her time in Hanover and the process of getting registered at Dartmouth. She carefully cut back on the expressions of affection, not wanting to sound like she expected never to speak to them again, even if she didn't. That was, understandably, hard for her. Exactly how hard, I didn't know and couldn't really imagine; but Jasper could, and he tried to do his part by muffling her emotions just a bit. "I didn't think it was right to delete her very natural reaction," he told me later, "but I kept a lid on it." I thanked him on Bella's behalf.

She sent another email to her friend Rachel, her 'book friend,' describing the wedding and honeymoon but, at Edward's suggestion, omitting any mention of the coming baby. There was no telling how the werewolves might react to a new and unknown category of vampire coming into the world.

"How's Rachel?" Edward asked, to be polite. There was only one thing he cared about at the moment.

"She's good. She said her brother's not doing so well, though. He's decided to stay in wolf form a lot of the time and be the Quileute's personal guardian. He's kind of dejected about his condition and all, I guess. Billy's trying to talk him out of it. They hope he'll cheer up and agree to attend school in September."

"Aren't the others changing to wolf form?" Jasper asked.

"A lot of them gave it up once they imprinted. They want to age at the same speed as their girlfriends. But Jake's all alone."

Bella, Edward and Carlisle went over the procedure with her in detail. Edward, finally, agreed to hunt, leaving her behind reluctantly and only for a little over an hour. While he was away, Bella asked Rosalie to carry her upstairs so she could shower and wash her hair. I'm not sure why she felt that was important, but of course we complied. Rosalie braided her hair, thinking it might make her more comfortable, and I couldn't help but notice how motherly Rose was being toward her. Probably Jasper was right about Rose sublimating directly to grandmother status. I brought Bella a fresh set of Emmett's sweats, and Rose carried her back downstairs. At Carlisle's suggestion, she avoided any food or drink for the last few hours, and had her IV put back in place. When Edward returned, she put her arms around his waist and held onto him a moment.

"Are you all right, love?" He tried to see her face, which was hidden against his shirt.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just nervous."

"Of course."

Carlisle said quietly, "Whenever you're ready, Bella."

She nodded, we all wished her well and told her we loved her, and Edward carried her upstairs, followed by Rosalie. The rest of us then, by prior arrangement, left the house. Old blood in a cup was bad enough, but fresh blood from the surgery could be too much for us. Besides, there was nothing more any of us could do at this point. I could hear Carlisle preparing Bella for the anesthetic, then Bella telling Edward she loved him, and Edward replying. Then we moved out of hearing range, and waited.

Nineteen minutes later, I suddenly saw Bella again. "She's back!" I gasped. "Bella's future! I can see everything!" I saw the long familiar vision of vampire Bella, running through the woods and laughing. The relief was overwhelming.

Shortly after that, Esme's phone chimed, and she quickly snapped it open. "Carlisle?"

"Yes," we heard him say. "It's over. Everything seems to be fine. Bella is still under the anesthetic."

"Oh, thank God!" Esme exclaimed. "We'll be right there."

We all ran at top speed, racing each other, happy and relieved. We burst through the door, ignoring the tang of blood in the air, to find Rosalie sitting on the stairs, holding a flannel-wrapped bundle in her arms. She looked more peaceful and contented than I'd ever seen her. She looked up and smiled at us, then looked down to address the bundle. "EJ, meet your aunts and uncles."

She held the baby up so we could see its face. It was the size of a newborn baby, but seemed more mature somehow than those I'd seen, more alert. Not that I usually pay attention to babies. The little one looked at us, seeming to focus on our faces in a very deliberate way.

Esme said "Oh!" very softly and took a step forward. "Is…is he all right?"

"She," Rosalie corrected with a grin.

"A girl?" Esme stepped forward and tentatively touched the baby's face. I stared at it…at _her_. She had tousled hair the exact colour of Edward's, and big, intelligent eyes precisely the same warm brown as Bella's. I felt a little shock run through me as her eyes met mine, realizing that this was Edward's and Bella's child who was calmly looking me over.

"A girl," Rosalie confirmed. "Elizabeth, Junior."

One thing was dominant in my own mind. "I can't see her!"

"Can't…" Jasper repeated. "You mean, you can't see her future?"

"Not at all. It's a blank, just like Bella was."

"I suppose that explains it," Eleazar said. "At least partly. You couldn't see Bella when she was connected with the child."

I stared. "Hi, EJ." The brown eyes studied me a moment longer before moving on to the others. I turned back to Rosalie. "What about Bella? Is she okay?"

"Stable, but still unconscious." Rose looked uneasily toward the ceiling. "Edward won't leave her. Her heart actually stopped for a minute during the surgery. Carlisle said it was weakened from the stress of the pregnancy and the starvation diet. Edward did CPR while Carlisle finished the delivery. I just looked after the baby."

"Her heart sounds fine now," Esme observed.

"Yes, Edward revived her quickly, but it was pretty frantic there for a minute or two."

I looked back at EJ, who lay watching us as though keeping track of the situation. Suddenly she reached out and touched Rosalie's face.

"I'm going to look in on Bella," Esme said. "I don't want to intrude, but I'd like to be with her for a moment." She flitted up the stairs.

"I'm going, too," I said, hurrying after her. After so long being unsure of my friend's future, I needed the reassurance of seeing her.

"There'll be more to tell, when you get back," Rosalie murmured, looking down at the tiny face peering up at her.

Bella was lying under a clean sheet, looking pale but alive. Some effort had been made to wash her and straighten her hair. Carlisle was nearby, quietly monitoring her vital signs. Her heart was beating normally, her breathing was steady. Edward stood by her side, holding her hand. He didn't look away from her face when we entered. "Edward," Esme said. "Such a beautiful little girl. Congratulations." She bent and kissed the sleeping Bella on the cheek carefully.

"Thank you," he said soberly. He looked up at last, smiled unsteadily at us, and returned his gaze to Bella. "She'll be awake soon, and you can congratulate her as well."

"Well, we'll leave you alone until Bella's more prepared for visitors." We both hugged him and returned downstairs.

EJ was in Tanya's arms; Irina was staring at the baby in shock. "What was that?"

"I was trying to tell you," Rosalie explained. "It's the baby. She's gifted."

"Yes. An unusual one," Eleazar said, watching EJ closely. "A gift of communication. She transmits information."

Emmett frowned at the tiny girl. "She does? How?"

"By touch," Rosalie said. "It's kind of shocking the first time you see it."

"Here," Tanya said, carefully handing Emmett the bundle. "Try it."

Emmett gingerly took the baby in his arms and looked down at her. She stared right back at him. Then she reached out toward his face, awkwardly, as though trying to control her movements enough to touch him. He bent his head obligingly, then gasped. "Holy….!"

"See what I mean?" Rose said, grinning. "She did it to Edward first, but he didn't even realize there was anything unusual going on, since he could read her thoughts anyway."

"That's what I'm seeing?" Emmett asked. "Her thoughts?"

"Yep."

"What do you see?" I asked, fascinated. EJ moved her little hand away, and he passed her to me.

"Touch her hand," Rose instructed me.

I carefully took the tiny hand in mine. At first, I saw nothing; then she pressed her palm awkwardly against mine, and a series of images flooded through my mind. Not just images; sounds and smells and emotions.

It took me a moment to realize she was showing me the story of her own brief life. I shared the child's experiences as if they were my own. First, I felt warmth, peaceful floating, heard the comforting sound of a heartbeat, saw muted light and faint shadows. It was a place of bliss, and I felt intense love for the unknown being whose body surrounded me.

I looked at Jasper, wanting to say something but unwilling to miss a single second of the story I was seeing and hearing in my head. It was amazing. It was like my own mind continued to operate, while at the same time producing thoughts with a second, entirely separate mind. It was _so cool_!

Through the baby's mind, I heard voices, the one voice I loved more than any other,_ her_ voice, muted but audible; and others almost as familiar. I recognized the sound of Edward's voice, singing softly, although I simultaneously knew (as Alice) and didn't know (as EJ) what singing was or what the words he sang meant, or that the singer's name was Edward. I liked the sound.

"Edward," I said quietly, "are you seeing this?"

"Yes, I see it," he replied from the second floor.

The story went on. I moved and kicked sometimes, and presently began to notice that this brought on sharp noises and sudden movements I associated with distress. I vaguely knew that this came from _her _(as Alice I knew this was Bella) and the one who sang (Edward). They didn't want me to kick. I tried to stay still. That made _her_ happier, I thought.

Then something changed. There was an odd smell. Something was grasping me firmly, and I was lifted out of the warm, dim place and out into cold and light. I had to cough, take in air. I shouted in surprise. I smelled a wonderful smell, and without thinking turned and bit down, making a lovely taste appear in my mouth. (As Alice, my throat burned in response.) Then I felt movement, and something warm wrap around me, and I heard the other voice, the deep one, singing that song to me again. I became calm. I tried to figure out what was happening. I thought I was seeing the other one, not just hearing him. I saw what I somehow knew was a face. The other one's face! Then where was _she_? I could hear the sound of the heartbeat I knew so well, could smell her familiar smell, now sharpened by the delicious smell of blood, and turned in that direction. I saw another face. Then the sound of the heartbeat stopped, and I felt myself being moved very quickly. I was with a different person, someone who spoke to me with a high, clear voice, one I'd heard often before, and I was moving away from _her_.

Then I saw others arrive, and we looked at each other. Many people, all people to love, people who will love me. I'm sure one of them will bring me back to _her_.

The little hand fell away from mine, and the images stopped suddenly, as if someone had flipped a switch. I looked around at everyone. "That's…that was…"

"Incredible, isn't it?" Rosalie said.

Each of us took a turn, and little EJ seemed happy to share her story with everyone. Eleazar was last, and shortly after the story concluded, he pointed out that the baby seemed to be losing consciousness. "She's falling asleep," Rosalie told him.

"She sleeps?" Esme said. "What else? That is, what are her human qualities, and what are her vampire qualities?"

"We don't know all of them yet," Rose said. "Carlisle says she's like a normal full term baby in some ways, like a two or even three month old in others. Her development may not be completely parallel to a human baby's. He wants us to experiment cautiously with her diet, offering blood and baby milk alternately, until we know what she needs."

We watched little EJ sleep. It seemed as if our worries were behind us. We talked about the events of the past few weeks, and the past few hours, There was plenty to discuss.

"I saw her remember biting Bella," I said. "At least, I think that's what I saw."

"Yes," Rosalie agreed. "But she doesn't seem to be venomous. There was no effect beyond some tiny teeth marks. Yeah, she was born with teeth. Another way she's not exactly like a newborn baby."

We talked over the possibilities. It was the biggest event our family had seen.

Jasper broke off in the middle of a sentence and looked up sharply, staring at the ceiling. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Trouble of some kind," he said.

There was a long silence from upstairs. I heard Edward ask, "What do you mean?" Apparently Carlisle was explaining something in his thoughts. Edward asked sharply, "Why?" and then, "No! It's too soon. She hasn't even seen the baby yet!" and finally, "I don't know."

Carlisle finally spoke aloud. "Take some time, Edward. Think it over. Let me tell the others; they'll be worried." He appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What is it?" Esme asked tensely. "Is Bella awake?"

"No," Carlisle said. "She should have come out of the anesthetic some time ago. I believe she's in a coma." We just stared at him. "I think the cardiac arrest, combined with the stress of anesthetic and surgery in her weakened condition, was too much for her. She's stable for now, but I have no way of knowing when, or if, she'll come out of it."

We asked him a few questions, but he didn't have answers. "I have to talk to Edward," he said. "We need to come to an agreement." He returned to the bedroom before any of us could speak.

The one-sided conversation continued for a time; then Carlisle began using speech. "You promised her, Edward," he said. "She asked you, if anything went wrong, to change her without hesitation, and you agreed."

"Does it have to happen this minute?"

"No, but the longer we wait, the greater the risk of another arrest. She is also receiving only IV fluids, and is already malnourished. The safest thing would be to act quickly."

I heard Edward sigh. "Yes. I know it's the only thing to do. I still can't help feeling reluctant to stop that heart from beating."

"I understand, son. If you would like me to help…?"

"No," Edward said. "I promised her I would do it myself if I could. Rosalie," he called out quietly, "would you please bring the baby upstairs for a moment?"

EJ woke up as Rosalie stood, looking around sleepily as she was carried up the steps. "Thank you, Rosalie. Give her to me, please," Edward said. Then his voice became gentle. "See, Elizabeth? That's your mama. She's the best and bravest woman alive, and you wouldn't be here today if she hadn't been strong enough to protect you." He paused, humming softly to the baby. "You won't see her like this again. She'll still be with us, but she'll look different. I hope you can remember her as she is." There was a silence, and I heard Edward whisper, "That's it, little one. Show Mama." Apparently he was letting E.J. touch Bella as she slept. "Maybe she can see your thoughts, even while she's sleeping." After a short silence, he said, "Rose, she has to be kept some distance from the house, out of earshot. I don't want her to hear Bella screaming."

"The cottage where we stayed?" Carmen suggested.

"Yes, if you don't mind, Carmen. Thank you so much, everyone." A moment later, Rosalie came back downstairs with the baby in her arms. She and Emmett gathered blood from the refrigerator, a can of baby formula, and the odd, metal-tipped baby bottles Esme had obtained before the delivery.

Esme collected blankets and the few items of baby clothes we'd had time to buy. "I'll go with you," she told Rosalie. They vanished quietly out the back door.

Jasper glanced at me apologetically. "I'm going to leave the house a while."

"I understand. I want to stay here with Bella."

"Of course. I'll be back soon." He, too, vanished out the back door.

I heard Edward whispering to Bella, then the lush sound of teeth tearing smoothly through skin, and Edward grunting softly with the immense effort of biting but not drinking. The scent of Bella's blood filled the house, and I stopped breathing. The tearing sound came again and again as Edward bit her repeatedly, introducing his venom into her system eight times before he stopped.

"She's not responding," Edward said worriedly.

"It may take some time for the venom to reverse the coma," Carlisle said. "It's a blessing, honestly. For at least the early part of the transformation, she won't feel anything."

"That's true," Edward said, sounding relieved. "You're sure it _will_ be reversed?"

"Esme was far worse off, and the venom healed her. Be patient, Edward. Bella will be fine. Listen to her heart. Strong and steady."

For nearly nine hours, Edward kept vigil at Bella's bedside, whispering whatever words of love or regret came to his lips; and Bella lay quietly, unresponsive. We each took turns helping Rosalie care for the baby, fetching food and clothing, holding EJ, talking to her, letting her show us her thoughts, learning how to feed her, charting her size and weight twice a day - all the while watching and waiting.

Finally, there was a change. We heard Bella's heart rate increase slightly, her breathing become rapid. Carlisle dashed upstairs to check on her, just as the first of her agonized screams echoed down the stairwell.

She screamed and screamed, then passed out for a short time, then woke and screamed, then passed out again. Eventually, the transformation took her past the point where she could lose consciousness, and she endured every minute of the burning without respite. Jasper sat on the bottom step, eyes closed, focused intently. At length, he said, "Edward! If you could control your own emotions a little, I'd be better able to concentrate on helping Bella." After a moment, he said, "Thank you. That's much better." Bella seemed to gain a little control after that. Instead of screaming, she just lay still, breathing slowly and evenly, only occasionally letting out a whimper before returning to her controlled breathing. Not what the Lamaze method was intended for, but it seemed to work for her.

And so the hours passed.

After two days, Bella's scent began to change. She no longer had much appeal to the appetite. Her delicious floral fragrance was not so much disappearing as being sublimated, becoming the base note in an entirely new perfume, one that announced the approach of the new Bella even more clearly than the changes in her appearance. Freesia, nutmeg, freshly cut grass, a hint of ginger, all mingled in a constantly changing mix. When it was complete, the scent would be the essence of her transformed self. I breathed deeply, following the minute changes in her scent.

At three days old, EJ had grown from the size of a newborn to that of a baby two to three months of age. Her mind appeared to develop even faster than her body. She had begun to return our facial expressions, could tell us apart, seemed to recognize the sound of her own name, understood common words and gestures, and remembered familiar routines. We could accurately monitor how much she knew because of the feedback she provided by means of her gift. She often used her gift to ask questions, requesting that we identify a new object or explain something we were doing. We had to assume she understood a certain amount of what was said, unlikely as that seemed.

One question kept coming up. EJ would send one or another of us an image of Bella, accompanied by a feeling of longing and of curiosity. The meaning was clear: where is she, and when can I see her again? "Soon," we kept telling her. "You'll see your mama soon."

The morning of the third day, I left the cottage and went back to the house to stay with Bella for a while, leaving EJ in the capable and adoring hands of her various aunts and uncles. Jasper gave me a quick update: the burning was diminishing quickly as the process approached its conclusion. I looked ahead, and saw less than four hours remaining until Bella's transformation was complete. I ran full speed up the stairs. "Three hours and fifty-one minutes, Edward!" I said as I entered the room.

He nodded. "She's going to be all right," he said, as though trying to convince himself.

"Of course she is!" I opened the walk-in closet, chose an outfit and brought it back to Bella. "She shouldn't start her new life wrapped in a sheet. Let me dress her."

"She's in pain. Don't disturb her now."

"Her pain is decreasing by the minute, according to Jasper. She'll need clothing."

He sighed and moved back to let me near her. He had washed her more thoroughly, brushed her hair, and covered her with a blanket. "I'm going to put some clothes on you, Bella. Pay no attention to me. Just lie still, if that's what helps." Her perfectly rhythmic breathing sped up very slightly, then slowed again and continued. Moving her as gently as possible, I put on Bella's underwear and a dress I'd chosen. Something pretty and special, in keeping with the momentous occasion, but not too formal. It was a simple, sleeveless sheath dress of light blue silk. I added a pair of beige calfskin heels; she would have no trouble walking in them, not any more.

I straightened her clothing and looked down at her. Bella had almost completely transformed. Her skin was flawless alabaster, her pretty features perfected and enhanced. "Just _look_ at her, Edward! She's going to be magnificent."

"She always has been." I grinned at him. "How is Elizabeth?" He'd left Bella's side only briefly, to check on the baby from time to time.

"She's fantastic. Growing and learning faster than should be possible. Everybody loves her to pieces."

"Let them know to keep her…out of the way." His eyes went to Bella, whose breathing hitched slightly.

_Out of Bella's reach, you mean?_ He nodded. _I don't think she'd do anything, but we'll keep the baby in the cottage until we know Bella's stable. _I didn't think it would be a problem, for any of us. EJ had a heartbeat, had blood running in her veins, but her scent wasn't appealing in quite the same way as a human's. It gave mixed signals.

"Thank you."

I returned to the cottage. "Three and a half hours," I reported to all. "And Edward asked me to remind everyone to keep the baby back here until Bella's hunted and is reasonably calm." Emmett went back to the house to discuss security with Jasper, and I sat and brooded happily. The image of Bella as one of us, as my sister, the vision I'd seen before I'd even met her, was finally going to come true. I could hardly contain myself.

When the remaining time was down to a few minutes, everyone started moving toward the house except Rosalie, who had EJ in her arms. "Do you want one of us to stay here with you, Rose?" Esme asked.

"No, I'm fine. I'll meet the new sister later on."

Impulsively, I hugged her. "Thank you, Rosalie." I turned and dashed to the house, arriving before anyone else.

Bella was breathing rapidly and shallowly, her heart beating at an impossible rate. Her back arched as the burning intensified and became concentrated, transforming her heart in the final coup de grace on her humanity. Jasper carefully placed me behind him. We were arranged strategically, the strongest fighters in the front, others behind them.

Bella's heart stuttered, beat twice more, and finally stopped. She lay perfectly still a moment, not even breathing. Edward stood, still holding her hand, waiting, until her eyes opened. She looked around, an expression of wonder on her face, which turned to amazement when she drew a breath. As I watched, she moved her left hand, the hand Edward held, ever so slightly. Her reaction was almost too fast for me to see. In one fluid movement, she leapt from the bed just as the clock's second hand clicked exactly 10:04, turned over in the air, and landed on her feet, tensed and ready. She took in our defensive arrangement, apparently figured out there was no real threat other than herself, and straightened up, looking around. She caught my eye where I was looking past Jasper to see her, smiling like mad at my vision come to life. As the clock clicked to 10:04 and one second, her eyes fell on Edward, and stopped there. She stared.

"Bella?" Edward approached her, slowly and carefully. "It's all right, love. Everything's fine. I'm sorry, I know it's disorienting…"

Moving even faster than before, Bella ran to him, flung her arms around him, so enthusiastically that he actually had to make her stop before she crushed him, reminding her that she was stronger than he was at present. She drew back, apologizing. I looked around; we were _all_ grinning from ear to ear, almost too happy to bear.

Bella seemed to be making an effort to focus. She carefully touched Edward's face. "I love you," she said, her voice musical.

Edward smiled at her. "As I love you." Ignoring us for the moment, he drew Bella close again, pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Her response did my shy girl proud, I must say. Emmett intruded by coughing loudly to remind them we were still standing there, watching, and Bella pulled away, embarrassed. Edward seemed undisturbed. He was beaming at her, almost as he had when he watched her walk toward him at their wedding.

We carefully greeted her, everyone still being cautious, but reassured by her calm. She seemed confused and distracted, but under control. Finally, she looked around. "My baby. Where's Elizabeth? Is she all right?"

"She's fine, love," Edward assured her. "She's with Rosalie. Probably asleep at this point."

"I want to see her."

We looked uneasily at Edward. "Bella, you should hunt first. The baby's half human. You don't want to risk harming her."

That idea seemed to startle her. "All right. Let's hunt."

"Wait! Don't go yet!" I turned the full length mirror so it faced Bella, as Edward grumbled. "Edward, don't you dare let her miss out on this!" I took Bella's hand and led her to the mirror. "There, Bella."

She turned and looked. For many seconds she just stood and stared; then she touched her face while watching her reflection, as if to assure herself it was really her in the mirror. She touched her upper lip.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"I…still look like me," she said, sounding relieved. "Well, sort of. The eyes, though! How long…?"

"A few months," Edward said.

"_Months_?" She seemed upset, and Jasper tensed beside me, but she calmed herself at once. "Okay. A few months. It'll be okay."

"Of course it will," I said, squeezing her hand. "But you haven't told me what you think of the new you."

"It's…so strange. I look like me, but I don't. She's pretty, though."

"She's _you_, little sister," Emmett told her.

She smiled at last. "Yes, I guess she is." As we stood side by side, studying her reflection, she put an arm around me, and I placed one around her, and…there it was: the vision I'd shown Edward, back when he first met Bella. Before he'd even known he loved her. It was like looking at a picture postcard of some fabulous destination for months on end, and finally arriving at the real place itself.

I looked back at Edward, smiling with all my might. "Does this look familiar?" I asked him.

He laughed, and the others looked at me, puzzled. "I'll explain later."

"Right now," Carlisle said, "I believe Bella is waiting to hunt."

Edward held out his hand, and led Bella off into the night. She removed her shoes and threw them back at me just before they dashed off, making Emmett laugh at me. I could hear her in the distance, running and leaping, laughing joyfully at her new speed and strength.


	7. Death In Absentia

EJ became a central part of the family from the moment she was born, if not before. Her physical care was happily shared. She'd slept in the Hanover house with her parents - apart from their one night alone, after Bella's first hunt, when we babysat - but during the day EJ was everybody's pet project. Carlisle kept careful track of her growth and development. Her education was likewise shared. Having no idea what to expect, we tried to follow her interests and abilities. She learned walk, speak, and even read within a very short period of time. We learned to not to make assumptions about how much she could understand, and gauge her ability by the questions she asked.

She didn't like talking, at first, and only did so when it was impossible to touch the person she was addressing. She preferred to use her gift. Edward encouraged her to speak, and was able to persuade her to sing with him while he played the piano. She seemed to enjoy music, especially her father's music.

For my part, I loved dressing her up. Unlike Bella, she didn't mind being put in pretty clothes, and she was growing so fast, she needed new clothes on a weekly basis. Providing them was my very welcome duty. As her curly auburn hair grew longer and her features became more mature, she only became prettier.

EJ seemed to have a natural charm that nobody could resist. She was completely loveable, yet never seemed to become spoiled or petulant, in spite of being fawned on by all the Cullens, not to mention our cousins.

The cousins were, in fact, part of this process. Carmen and Esme had succeeded in finding them a house on eighty acres, and they now lived a short distance from us. We saw them most days. For one thing, they were fascinated by EJ and wanted to be in on her development; and for another, they missed seeing the rest of us. Bella, supremely confident in her new and beautiful Version 2.0, no longer felt any uneasiness around the sisters. She and Tanya even became good friends.

It was Tanya who finally asked the question I'd kept to myself since the day Bella turned up pregnant. One day, when Bella and Esme were out hunting with EJ, helping her find small and easily dispatched prey in an effort to wean her off donated human blood, a few of us were lounging around, talking idly of this and that. At some point, the conversation turned to weddings, and from there to honeymoons. Tanya took advantage of the opportunity. "Speaking of honeymoons, Edward, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Uh oh," Emmett said, grinning. Edward nodded cautiously.

"Bella became pregnant while you were on your honeymoon. While she was still human."

"Of course."

"It was my understanding that you considered this sort of thing far too dangerous. As someone with a lively interest in human-vampire relations of this kind, I can't help but be fascinated. What changed your mind, if I may ask?

Edward looked uncomfortable, but answered. "Bella did. She said she wanted to consummate our marriage before her change, to make it even more official, as she put it. I believe she wanted to impress on me that she truly did regard the marriage as genuine. It was important to her. It was the reason she secretly arranged for a traditional wedding, in contrast to her original plans."

"I doubt that was the only reason she suggested it," Emmett laughed. "She may not be as repressed as _some_ people."

"And you agreed immediately?" Tanya pressed him.

"No, actually. I refused at first. On our wedding night, Bella was slightly unsteady from the wine she'd been given at the reception."

"That's a very gallant way to express it," Kate said, grinning. "The girl was nicely sozzled."

"Tanked," Tanya said.

"Three sheets to the wind," Irina agreed.

"In any case," Edward went on, "I thought it was both inappropriate and unsafe to proceed with her in that condition. I waited until she was clear headed."

"The following day?" Tanya asked.

"Yes, if you must know."

"And all was well?"

His expression became a little tense. "In fact, she experienced some slight bruising after the, er, first time. She convinced me, eventually, that it was insignificant."

"Bella does bruise very easily," I observed.

"Yes, so she said; but it was a shock to realize she'd been bruised by _me_. She insisted I put the matter in perspective, which I tried to do. And I managed not to injure her again, however trivially. Does that satisfy your curiosity?" he asked Tanya, arching an eyebrow.

"Not by a long way; but it's probably all the information I'm going to get from you."

"That it is."

"I'll just have to give Bella a try."

"Good luck with that," Emmett muttered.

Bella herself was every bit as happy in her new life as she'd appeared in my visions of her. She seemed absolutely thrilled with her new, stronger, faster body and mind. She was ecstatic to be Edward's equal and his true partner, and I gathered their love life met with her approval as well. She adored her daughter, and revelled in being a mother to the strangely endearing little hybrid. She was even delighted to be a part of the Cullen family - a genuine part, not just someone under their protection. Jasper loved being around her and Edward, basking in their intensely positive emotional climate. I suppose it made up for all the painful feelings he'd had to moderate since Bella had come into our lives.

Bella was also the most perfectly self-controlled newborn anyone in our family had ever seen. She could turn away from human blood as easily as the most experienced of vampires, almost as easily as Carlisle. It was a shock to us all. Carlisle speculated that it was because she'd been so thoroughly prepared for her new life. Jasper thought it might be a secondary gift. We kind of set that aside after a while, hoping we'd be able to figure it out eventually. It was one more thing Bella was happy about: that she didn't have to be concerned over the possibility of taking down a Boy Scout troop or something in a weak moment.

Only the prospect of a few unavoidable duties marred the experience. A couple of weeks after her change, Carlisle tactfully brought up the first of these.

Bella had just finished sending an email to her mother, providing carefully edited information on Hanover and the coming semester at Dartmouth. "Bella, you realize that it's likely not possible for you to actually attend classes," Carlisle said. "Not for some time, in any case." Her eyes were still crimson. Nowadays she could always claim she was wearing novelty coloured contacts, but we didn't like to press our luck.

She turned away from the computer. "Yes, I know."

"It would eventually get back to your parents that you are not among the Dartmouth student body." She looked at him, suddenly serious. "It's time, Bella."

She froze a moment, then relaxed again. "Yes. Okay."

Carlisle gestured to the dining table, and we all joined him there, EJ watching solemnly from Rosalie's arms. Carlisle addressed us. "We have to make arrangements for Bella's disappearance. Any suggestions for a plausible story?"

"A death would be the least likely to cause suspicion," Jasper said, "if it were one where no body was expected to be found. A drowning at sea, for example."

"Bella, do you have any preference?" Esme asked her.

"I'm not sure. Mom and Charlie are going to be upset no matter what approach is taken." She looked sad, for the first time since opening her new, red eyes.

"I'm afraid that's unavoidable, dear."

"Yes. Is there any way I could disappear and never see them again, but for some good reason? Something they could accept without too much trouble?"

"Witness Protection Programme?" Emmett suggested.

"That _sounds_ good," Rosalie objected, "but Charlie's a cop. I suspect he'd try to track her down, or at least find some record of the crime she witnessed, and it would get awfully complicated."

"I suppose it would," Bella agreed. "Well, by the same token, we shouldn't have me be kidnapped or run off and join a cult, or anything else that would give Charlie the idea he could track me down. He'd probably go on looking for years, and I don't want that. I want him and Mom to be able to put it aside and move on."

"Death might be the better option, in that case," Carlisle said.

We batted ideas back and forth a while, coming up with nothing better. Suddenly, I made a connection in my mind. Something I'd seen while looking into the future weather in Hanover, and had dismissed as irrelevant. "Wait! I think I've got something." I started scanning ahead, looking through the details.

"That would be perfect!" Edward said.

"Yes, wouldn't it? Everything falls into place."

Emmett threw up his hands in disgust. "Would you two mind discussing this _out loud_? For the benefit of the mind-reading impaired?"

"Sorry," Edward said. "It's a fire in an unoccupied house."

"A fire?"

I explained. "Two…no,_ three_ kids broke in to smoke some cigarettes they'd swiped. There was some kind of accelerant being stored inside." I looked more closely. "Butane! Somebody was using the house to manufacture…well, that's beside the point. They started a fire, the whole house went up like a matchstick, and none of them escaped."

"That's awful!" Bella exclaimed. "When was this?"

"Eight days from now."

Edward smirked at me. "Future tense where appropriate, please, Alice."

"Right. Three kids _will_ break in and set a house on fire, and burn to death. Unless, of course, someone like Bella heroically rushes in and saves them."

"And dies in the process," Jasper concluded. "Very nice. Will it work?"

"I can't know until Bella actually decides to do it."

Bella looked around the table. "What does everyone think? Carlisle?"

"It seems ideal. While your parents would still grieve, the fact that you'd died saving children from a horrible death would certainly ease their pain, and make the loss easier to accept. In addition, of course, to the added benefit of actually saving the children."

"Eight days?" Bella asked. "What would I do?"

"Just happen to be in the area at the time, and run in and drag the little brats outside. Make sure there are witnesses that can confirm what you did."

"We'd have to provide a corpse," Jasper said casually. "One that could be taken for Bella, at least in a burned condition."

"Won't they check for DNA?" Esme asked.

"That wouldn't be done unless the person's identity was in question. We can make sure it's not." Jasper ran through the process quickly: leaving Bella's ID in the substitute's pocket, altering her dental records to match those of the purloined body, even making sure eye witnesses saw Bella inside the blazing house as it collapsed.

The future event was becoming clearer by the second. "Yes! Everything goes like clockwork. Only one problem. The rescue will get media attention. Bella will have to stay under the radar for a while, completely out of sight."

"I think I'll be doing that in any case," she said. Besides still being red-eyed, she found adapting to the vampire life and caring for EJ a full time job. She also wasn't yet perfect at appearing human. She'd adapted amazingly well, but she wasn't ready to go out into society just yet.

"Do we have a plan?" Carlisle asked. It seemed to be unanimous. We set about making the necessary preparations.

During the week, Bella sent one more email to her mother, and one to Charlie. She was warned not to get suspiciously affectionate or nostalgic; just write casually about the weather and which classes she'd be taking. Bella looked very solemn after sending them, and Edward held her a long time, murmuring reassurances.

She also sent a short, cryptic email to her friend Rachel Black, using the new email address associated with her new self. She showed it to us for approval before hitting Send.

_Hi Rachel,_

_This is the address you should use from now on. The old one will be discontinued shortly. Please remember to delete my messages after you've read them._

_You may hear a rumour soon that I've left the area permanently, so to speak. Obviously, you'll know it's not true, but please keep that to yourself. Tell Paul if you want to, but nobody outside the pack. _

_I know you and Sue and Seth will keep an eye on him. I'm going to try and make it easy for him, as much as I can._

_Love,_

_B_

On the day of the fire, Bella set out for the neighbourhood in question. She wore tight jeans and a particularly eye-catching blouse which I provided for the occasion, and brown contact lenses. People would remember her later. She carried a purse with a shoulder strap. On our instructions, she stopped at a nearby bookstore, paying for the books with a debit card and presenting her student ID in order to receive the student discount. She did the same at a coffee shop around the corner, where she pretended to consume a small chai latte and received 10% off by showing her student card. I saw her do it all, from my hiding place on the upper floor of the doomed house, next to Jasper and his silent friend.

From there, as the sun began to set, she proceeded around the corner, checking her watch and slowing down her pace a little. As she approached the house, there was a muffled explosion, and a burst of flame shot out a broken ground floor window. Jasper glanced at me. I nodded. The chain of events had to be timed perfectly, and so far it was going smoothly.

A second explosion sounded, and the rear exit was blocked by a wall of flame. The three boys were panicking, running back and forth in search of a way out. We heard people start to gather on the sidewalk. _Has anybody called 911?_ a voice asked. _I did,_ a woman's voice answered. I smelled Bella as she arrived in front of the house and stopped beside the others.

The boys managed to get to a front window, and could be seen by the crowd, struggling to open it. It was painted shut, and before one of them could find something to smash the glass, the fire pushed them back.

That was Bella's cue. "Oh, no!" her musical voice cried from the front sidewalk. "Those poor kids are trapped in there!" I rolled my eyes, and Jasper grinned. Bella was a horrible actress. She got everything else right, though. She ran for the house, dropping her shoulder bag on the grass as she went, ignoring people yelling at her to stay away. Grabbing a broken chair from the back yard, she smashed through a window and climbed inside before anyone could stop her.

The boys were choking on the smoke by now. They had very little time. Bella deftly grabbed two of them around the chest and forcibly dragged them to the window, dropping first one, then the other the short distance to the ground below. Spectators got a good look at her as she brought the kids out, then ran back inside.

The third boy was losing consciousness and had some burns on his hands and arms, but I could see he would be all right after medical treatment. "Get the timing of this last part just right, Bella," Jasper warned her in an undertone, and she gave him a quick thumbs up. She carried the third boy to the window and, pretending to drag him with difficulty, lifted his limp body out the window and let it drop. Jazz and I got ready. Spectators ran to pick the boy up and carry him away from the burning house, so they were able to get a good, clear look as Bella, preparing to climb out the window to safety, was suddenly struck down when a burning timber fell directly onto her head. Another small explosion erupted near the window and flames shot up, cutting off their view.

Perfect.

Jasper and I emerged from our hiding place as Bella got to her feet, brushing soot from her hair and clothing. "Everything's still according to plan," I told her. She handed over her student card with its magnetic strip identifying the owner as Isabella Swan, and Jasper tucked it into the back pocket of the decedent's jeans, which were identical to the ones Bella herself was wearing. In fact, all their clothing was identical, just in case any of it remained intact. The counterfeit Bella was then carefully laid down, her skull was crushed by the burning timber which would be identified as the immediate cause of death, and she was left to burn beyond recognition.

Sirens could be heard in the distance just as the ceiling began to collapse. The three of us waited until the fire brigade pulled up in front of the house, causing spectators to move closer to the anticipated action. As soon as the coast was clear, we leapt out an upper floor window into the surrounding shrubbery and disappeared, followed by the sound of one last explosion.

The next day, news reports were full of the fire in what turned out to be a private meth lab, the near-miraculous rescue of three children from the burning house, and their rescuer's tragic demise. The young woman was easily identified as Isabella Swan, eighteen, a girl from a small town in Washington preparing for her freshman year at Dartmouth. Bella's photograph, the embarrassed-looking school picture that was framed and set out in Charlie's living room, appeared on TV reports across New Hampshire and, because of the connection with Chief Swan, in parts of Washington. Depending on the TV station or web site, various reports emphasized the fact that drug dealers were ultimately responsible for the fire; the selfless heroism that saved three children from certain death; or, because plenty of exciting film footage was available, the struggle of the fire fighters to get the fire under control.

Bella's supposed remains were rather redundantly cremated, sealed in a container, and sent to Charlie for whatever final resting place he found suitable. After some discussion, it was decided that Carlisle and Esme would fly back to Washington and attend the funeral. It made sense for Edward to be there, but Bella wasn't ready for travel, and the two of them couldn't face being apart for even the short time required. Dr. Cullen reported that young Edward had succumbed to something highly contagious and debilitating and had to be left at home. We sent floral arrangements, one from Edward alone, and another from the rest of the family. Carlisle reported that members of the Quileute tribe were present, and looked daggers at him and Esme.

"And Mom and Charlie?" Bella had asked hesitantly. "How are they doing?"

"As well as can be expected," Carlisle said. "Your mother was both distraught and intensely proud of you. She spoke at the funeral, saying your actions would not surprise anyone who knew you well." Bella looked uncomfortable. "As for your father, he was…unhappy. His friends are providing a great deal of support, and he's no longer living alone, which must be a comfort right now."

"He's not?" Bella asked in surprise.

"No. He's moved in with Sue Clearwater."

"Oh. Well, I thought that would happen sooner or later. I'm glad he's not on his own."

As a precaution, Edward packed up the house in Hanover and left it behind. If asked, his story was that he was moving back in with his parents to grieve the loss of his sweetheart. In fact, Esme had finished fixing up the cottage, and Edward, along with the technically nonexistent Bella and EJ, moved in there.

A few weeks later, Charlie Swan and Renee Dwyer each received a cheque in the mail from the Pacific Northwest Trust. The enclosed letter provided a complicated explanation of why Isabella Swan's grant had been forwarded to her next of kin upon her death, half to each of her parents. The letter also invited Chief Swan to nominate any deserving student in need of college funding, provided he or she was from the immediate area. As it happened, Charlie was in regular contact with one or two. Seth's and Leah's education would be provided for.

We all gave Bella a little space after the funeral. She accepted the necessity of it all, but making people she loved unhappy went against the grain for her. Kate decided to distract her by bringing up, once again, the idea of working to expand her gift. It was something she could work on while confined to the home compound, and take her mind off things. They met every day in the wood lot behind our house, to practice.

Bella seemed skeptical at first. She was not aware of any shield, could not imagine doing anything with this supposed shield. For days, Kate could get nowhere. Then she tried a kind of visualization exercise, in which Bella imagined her shield as an actual, physical object which she could move and manipulate with her mind. Bella sighed and made another attempt, and suddenly froze. "I can feel it!" she said.

"You can?" Kate asked excitedly. "Keep with it! Use your mind to push it away from yourself."

"Yes!" Bella seemed to be making a tremendous effort. "It's moving! No, wait. It's gone again."

They tried to work past these limits for several days. Bella only made a breakthrough when Kate casually took EJ in her arms. "Let's try a little experiment, shall we? Would you like to help your mama, little one?" EJ nodded enthusiastically. "Very well. I'll hold you in my arms like this, and when I start to touch you, your mama will use her shield to protect you from my shock. All right?"

What?" Bella exclaimed. EJ grinned expectantly at Kate. Bella reached for her. "Kate, give her to me!"

"In a minute," Kate said, eluding Bella easily. "First let's give this a try"

"Don't you _dare_ hurt her!" Bella lunged at Kate furiously.

The rest of us watched nervously. "Kate," Edward said, "you do realize how old she is? Do you really want to risk inciting a newborn?"

"All she has to do is extend her shield," Kate insisted, "and little Elizabeth will be fine. Ready?" She danced nimbly out of Bella's reach. "One, two…" She placed her hand just over EJ's.

Edward gasped. "Bella…"

"Three!" Kate touched EJ's little hand. Nothing happened. "Well, well! Bella, you can do it after all."

"Give her back to me!" Bella insisted.

Kate complied. "You know I wouldn't really shock the little girl, don't you?"

"But you tried to!" Bella said, still furious.

"No, actually, I didn't. I just wanted to see if the right motivation would help."

"So I didn't really extend my shield?"

"But you did!" Edward said. We all looked at him. "Bella, when Kate threatened to hurt Elizabeth, you shielded her from where you stood."

"How do you know?" Tanya demanded.

"Because her thoughts were suddenly cut off. I couldn't hear her."

Bella stared at him. "So I really can…?"

"Think about exactly what you did before," Irina advised. "Try to replicate it."

"Um, okay. I'll try to shield Kate." She frowned, concentrating, but Edward shook his head.

"Well, we have to go with what works," Kate said decidedly. She walked over to Edward. "One, two…"

"You're not fooling anybody, Kate," Bella scoffed.

"Three!" She touched Edward, and he fell to the ground as though shot. Bella dashed to him in a panic, but he recovered and stood up seconds later. Bella approached Kate with fire in her eyes.

"Fight! Fight!" Emmett chanted, amused.

"All in a good cause, Bella," Kate said, backing away. "Oh, Alice! Can I use you as a guinea pig?"

"Uh…" I wasn't too keen on the idea.

"Do what you have to, Bella!" Kate called out, and darted forward to touch me. I braced myself.

Nothing happened. "Are you doing it?" Bella asked.

"Yes! Bella, you've got it!"

"Okay." Bella was panting, working hard to maintain the shield.

"Try to extend it a little further. Shield me as well," Kate instructed. Bella frowned, concentrating.

"That's it," Edward told her. "Now I can't hear either Alice or Kate." A moment later Bella lost control of her shield, and they began again.

It was a start. In the days that followed, Bella slowly gained more control over her shield. Soon she could shield one person at a time, or the entire family at once. With practice, she found she could expand or retract her shield at will with less and less trouble. "I had no idea any of this was possible."

"Most of our gifts develop and increase after the change," Jasper explained. "This will gradually become easier for you."

The breakthrough Edward seemed most pleased with happened weeks later. He kept it a secret from the rest of us for a few days before spreading the word: Bella had acquired the ability to remove her shield, to lower it and uncover her mind at will. Edward told us about it one morning, after they returned from their cottage with EJ

"So you can read Bella's mind now?" Irina asked, as we gathered in the house, EJ napping in her mother's arms as we talked.

Edward smiled at Bella. "When she removes her shield. She can only do it for short periods of time."

"You're progressing amazingly fast," Esme said.

"It's quite impressive," Eleazar agreed. "Would you be willing to remove your shield right now?"

"Now? Um, sure." Bella stood still, frowning, as if concentrating hard on something. Eleazar watched her intently until she gasped. "Sorry! That's as long as I can hold on."

"It's fine, my dear. That was ample time. I could perceive your shielding ability very clearly."

"But what about the other thing? What everybody's been wondering about?" Emmett asked. "This weird self-control of hers. No newborn is like that. Is that a gift, too, or just training and preparation, like Carlisle says?"

"Carlisle is right. Bella's restraint is not a special talent."

"I guess that settles that," Emmett concluded.

"But I am rather curious," Eleazar went on. "Why is it you've never mentioned her _other_ gift?"

Talk about your attention-grabber.

"'Scuse me?" Emmett said. "_Other _gift?"

"But I don't have any other gift," Bella said.

"Perhaps it was hidden or inactive while you were human," Eleazar suggested. "That is very common."

"We haven't noticed any other particular talent," Esme said. "Are you sure about this?"

"Very sure. It's quite clear. The gift is subtle and probably not very powerful or consistent, but it is definitely there."

"What kind of gift is it?" Carlisle asked him. "Another aspect of her shielding ability?"

"No, it is completely separate. In the Volturi's system of classification, it would be designated a gift of perception."

"Perception of the future?" I asked hopefully. It would be cool if Bella and I shared the same talent.

"No, not the future specifically. It is…" He paused, tilting his head thoughtfully. "She has a kind of insight. She can discern hidden truths, unseen connections. She sees, so to speak, the heart of the matter. It may tend to appear in its clearest form under stress. Have you never known her to apply this gift?"

We looked at each other. "Your description is a little vague," Carlisle said. "Can you give an example of how the gift might work?"

"Well, for example…there may be a situation in which seemingly unrelated things were actually connected, or resulting from a common cause, and no one was able to see this except Bella. Or in which she saw past someone's lies or facade into their true intentions. Or where the results of an action would have consequences only she predicted - that might actually look like a prediction of the future, although technically it is only an analysis of the present."

Bella began shaking her head, but Edward seemed struck by an idea. "There was the time Bella figured out the connection between Victoria, the newborn army, and the stranger who broke into her home. None of us had realized it was all part of the same scheme. But this was while she was still human."

Eleazar nodded. "Yes, that's the kind of thing I mean."

"She also figured out the truth about Edward," Emmett pointed out, "without much to go on. And it's not like she believed in vampires to begin with."

"But," Bella protested, "I heard about the Quileute legends from Jacob."

"True," Edward said, "but even before that, you were closer to the truth than you reasonably should have been. I recall your telling me, '_I'm trying to work out what you are_.' You also concluded I could read minds, and that your own mind was exempt, and there was no reason you should have drawn that conclusion so easily." He turned to Eleazar. "She's always been surprisingly perceptive."

Bella shrugged, unconvinced. "A lot of that came from dreams. I used to sometimes have dreams that helped me work things out in my mind. Doesn't everyone?"

Carlisle smiled. "No, actually."

"I know one!" Emmett said. "When she was pregnant with EJ and starving, she woke up from a nap one afternoon and a dream had given her the idea that she needed to drink blood. It worked, too."

"Oh, and when Edward left after her last birthday," I gave them a glance of apology for mentioning it, "Bella had some kind of weird revelation, and understood that he'd lied to her."

Suddenly we all had examples to share. Surprisingly astute observations about the werewolves, clear insights about confusing situations, remarkably good guesses with minimal data - we realized Bella had done it on a regular basis, now that we thought about it.

"I thought she was simply observant," Esme said. "Maybe there's more to it than that."

"The dream aspect of it is interesting," Eleazar said.

"Yes, but…" Bella looked down at EJ, sleeping in her arms. "If I got most of these ideas from dreams, doesn't that mean my talent should have ended when I was changed? I don't dream any more."

"Not at all. The ability would work through different channels. Whatever mental calculations were accomplished through your dreams would simply be reassigned to your transformed neural functions."

"I see." Bella still seemed a little shocked by the whole idea. "Actually, there was one dream…"

"Yes?" Eleazar said eagerly. "When was this?"

"The night before our wedding." She looked from the baby to Edward. "Can she hear us?"

"No, not at all," he assured her.

"Well, I dreamed about a little boy, with green eyes and reddish brown hair. I was responsible for him, for protecting him from some terrible threat, but I didn't feel strong enough to keep him safe. I made some connection in my mind with the Immortal Children. I loved the little boy, but other people had good reasons he had to die. It was frightening."

Edward looked very somber. "Is that why you were so certain Elizabeth would be a boy?"

"Yes." She looked off to the left for a moment, as if trying to remember something. I'd seen that look before. "It was the wrong day."

Eleazar became very alert. "The wrong day?"

"Yes. The little boy would have been…" She seemed to suddenly become self-conscious.

"Would have what, my dear? You're among friends."

"Well, I can't really explain how I know this, but...he would have been, er, conceived on that same day. On my wedding night. Only he _wasn't,_ because, well, I had a little bit too much to drink at the wedding, and the baby wasn't made until the next day. The next day, it was an X chromosome. The day before, it would have been a Y."

"I understand," Eleazar said, looking quite intrigued. "_That_ is the kind of thing I mean," he told Carlisle.

"Yes, but I have no idea how I know that," Bella objected. "It's just something that came into my mind. How do you know it's true?"

"On this occasion, we do not; but there have been situations in which your insights turned out to be accurate, no?"

"Definitely," Rosalie said.

"And _you_ feel certain that they are true, do you not?" Eleazar pressed.

Bella shrugged. "Yeah. Sometimes I think of things, and they just _feel _like facts. I don't know why, though. I always told myself it was just my imagination."

"So you experienced this sort of thing before?"

"Sometimes. Mostly from dreams, sometimes just things that came into my head," she admitted. "But I never took them seriously."

"Perhaps you should begin to take them seriously," Eleazar suggested. "Have these convictions changed in any way since your transformation?"

"There haven't been very many, but…they're sort of clearer than before. Harder to ignore."

"That makes sense. You may want to pay attention to these experiences, and learn to distinguish genuine insights from random thoughts. You may find you can learn to control them, as you have your shielding ability."

Kate rubbed her hands together. "Another talent to develop! Bella, you're going to be a busy girl."

Carlisle turned to Eleazar. "Have you ever encountered someone with more than one gift?"

"No, not until now."

"Her father's mind is partially shielded," Edward mused, "and her mother is exceptionally intuitive. Perhaps they combined to give Bella a version of their own talents, an amplified version."

"That could be," Eleazar acknowledged.

"What did you say about Charlie?" Bella asked. "You had trouble reading his thoughts? Why did you never mention that before?"

Edward gave her a sheepish smile. "You were so pleased to be the only one whose mind was closed to me. I _could_ read Charlie's thoughts, but they were partially obscured. I suppose your gift must have a hereditary component."

EJ woke up at that moment, and the conversation took a different turn.

Later that night, after Edward and Bella had taken the baby back to their cottage for the night, we switched on the news, scanning through various news stations as usual, monitoring various regions. A news item came on that caught our attention at once. The owners of the drug lab were working their way through the legal system, and the news was rehashing the whole story. This time, they included a short interview with the father of the 'heroic co-ed' who had died in the 'inferno.'

The camera showed us Charlie, standing next to Sue Clearwater. Sue was holding his arm and looking a little bit like an overly suspicious security guard. Jasper chuckled. "Protective. You can read it from here."

"Charlie doesn't look so good," I observed. Partly it was the gloomy weather in Forks, but he also looked like he was just out of the cancer ward.

The news anchor, a handsome, vacuous looking man in a well cut suit, assuming a properly sober expression, spoke to Charlie. "Have you heard that the owners of the drug lab have been arrested?"

"Yeah, I heard that."

"As a police officer, I'm sure that gives you some satisfaction."

"Some, yeah." Charlie seemed to make an effort. "I mean, at least they can't do it again to someone else, right?"

"The parents of the three children who were saved from the fire have expressed their undying gratitude to your daughter." Probably not in those exact words. When Charlie didn't respond, the suit added, "Are you proud of your daughter's actions on that day?"

"Of course I am!" Charlie snapped. "Who wouldn't be? It was the bravest thing I've ever heard of, from civilian or police." He stopped, clenching his jaw.

Sue spoke for the first time. "Charlie's always been proud of Bella."

"That's true," Charlie said. "She was the best daughter a man ever had. She didn't have to run into a burning building to prove _that_." He broke off, his face working pathetically in the manner of a stoic man who wasn't used to crying, and Sue put an arm around him as the camera cut away to footage of the burning house.

We sat in silence for a moment. I said, "They might be replaying that news spot tomorrow, maybe for another day or two. We have to make sure Bella never, ever sees it."

The others agreed wholeheartedly.


	8. Business Trip

As the summer wore on, EJ grew to the point where she looked more like a little girl than a baby. Her auburn ringlets hung past her shoulders, she was slim and graceful, and her face resembled Edward's more every day. She was not nearly as strong or as fast as the rest of us, but was well beyond human speed or strength. She could read and write, draw pictures and do simple arithmetic.

Her growth was gradually slowing. Carlisle estimated that, if she followed the same arc, she would be fully grown in less than seven years. What that meant for her future was hard to determine. If she was an adult at seven, she should become elderly by fourteen or fifteen. Did that mean she would die before she was twenty? More than ever, I wished that I could see her future. We all continued to search for something in history or folklore that would give us a clue as to her prospects, and we discussed taking a trip to seek out information firsthand.

There was one other unpleasant duty that we were facing, and it probably wasn't a good idea to put it off. The Volturi were aware of Bella, would be expecting us to change her within a reasonable period of time. We'd discussed simply keeping quiet and hoping the Volturi would find other things to occupy themselves, but I saw Aro making plans to pay us a visit. Having him find out about EJ was definitely not a good idea. Aro was a collector, Carlisle told us, fascinated with the gifted and the unique. EJ was both.

In an effort to delay things, I'd mailed a clipping of Bella's obituary to Occupant, care of the Volturi's residence. It would be unclear whether Bella had actually died, or had been changed and faked her own death, but either scenario put us in the clear. We figured it would at least placate the Volturi and buy us some time.

Just after Labour Day, we received an elegantly hand-addressed envelope of heavy, cream-coloured paper. It contained a notecard, on which was written in a fluid script,_ I hope I will have the opportunity to pay my respects to the late Miss Swan_. Like our message, it was open to interpretation.

For days Bella and Edward argued, off and on, about how to proceed. Bella thought the best approach would be to go to Volterra, show herself and prove she had been changed, as promised. Edward, whose first instinct was to go into hiding until EJ was grown, came to agree with the trip to Italy. However, he felt Bella should travel with at least a few family members, while Bella thought she should go by herself. Most of us agreed with her. As frightening as it was to think of our Bella facing the Volturi all alone, it was the only way to keep them from finding out about EJ. Bella's was the only mind Aro couldn't read.

Edward eventually assented, but had to be talked out of accompanying Bella. "Edward, I can't leave EJ without _either_ of her parents," Bella said. "Stay with her, please. I'll come back as soon as I possibly can."

After further discussion, it was decided that Bella would travel with Carlisle and myself as far as Florence, continuing on her own from there to Volterra. I could keep track of likely outcomes almost up to the last minute. If all went well, she would meet with the Volturi and come directly back.

On the day of her departure, Bella explained the situation to EJ as best she could, and the child reluctantly accepted her mama's absence. She touched Bella's face, sending one of her picture messages, and Bella replied, "I know. I'll miss you, too. I'll come back as fast as I can. Be brave for me, okay?" EJ nodded and hugged Bella fiercely, then ran into her Aunt Rosalie's arms, hiding her face against Rose's shoulder. Rosalie waved goodbye to Bella and tactfully took the baby outside, away from all the farewells.

Bella and Edward's goodbye took a little longer. They'd always been insanely romantic about each other, but since Bella's change they'd actually become a more ardent couple than even Rosalie and Emmett, although the responsibilities of parenthood kept them from disappearing into their honeymoon cottage for weeks on end. As their goodbye kiss went into its second full minute, Emmett started making wisecracks, mostly about how unlikely it was that Edward, after more than a century of celibacy, could change into newlywed mode overnight.

"They look pretty cozy to me," I pointed out.

"It's all smoke, no fire," he scoffed. "Poor Bella. Imagine giving up being human so you could spend endless nights playing gin rummy."

"Emmett!" Bella protested from Edward's arms.

"What? Are you telling me anything goes on in that cottage with more than a PG rating?" He carried on in this vein until Edward unwound himself from Bella and moved away, exasperated. "What do you think, little sister? Is there any hope of Edward changing his spots after all this time?"

"What _I_ think is that you don't really consider me your little sister."

"What? Of course I do," Emmett said, looking confused at the change of subject.

"If you did, you wouldn't make remarks like that."

"Aw, come on! I didn't think you were such a Puritan!"

"It's not the subject matter, per se. It's all the remarks about Edward and me."

Emmett snorted. "You can't take a little razzing? When did this happen?"

"You can tease me about anything else you want, Emmett, but not that," she said firmly. "It's private."

"Ha!" he scoffed. "And who's going to stop me?"

Bella shrugged. "I'm not going to get into a boxing ring with you, if that's what you mean. You're free to go on saying whatever you like. But if you knew how much it upsets me, you wouldn't do it. At least, I _hope_ you wouldn't. I'd like to think you really do consider me your sister."

"Aw!" Emmett scrunched up his face, at a loss. "It really bothers you that much?"

"Yes."

He sighed loudly. "Okay! Fine! That subject is off limits. Happy now?"

She grinned. "Yes, I am. Thank you, Emmett! I know you'll keep your word; you always do. You're the best!" She hugged him warmly and he stalked off after Rosalie, calling out a quick goodbye. The rest of us stared after him. Nobody had ever convinced Emmett to shut up about _anything_, except by winning a wager or a wrestling match.

Edward and Bella completed their goodbyes, which became a little mournful toward the end, as Edward tried to suppress his misgivings about the trip, and didn't quite succeed. With one final embrace, Bella broke free and hurried out the door. I let go of Jasper's hand and went out after her, and Carlisle followed us after a final glance at Esme. We drove in silence for a few minutes before Bella asked, "Is it this hard for all of you? To be apart?" She didn't elaborate, but we both knew what she meant.

"It gets a little easier, with practice," Carlisle said, "but separation from our mates is always difficult for us. It's part of our nature."

She nodded, and we put all that aside and buckled down to the task ahead.

We'd been provided with new credit cards and passports. Rosalie had given us some pointers for avoiding problems with the newest security technology, and we breezed through the airport without a hitch. Our flight had a stopover in London, which Carlisle used to revisit the city of his birth and make contact with a couple of friends from his earlier days. I accompanied Bella to the city centre, where she gawked openly like the tourist she was, staring at historical sites and exclaiming over the important things that had taken place there, the great novels that had been set there.

"You'll have to come back, with Edward," I said, "when you have more time."

"He and I once talked about travelling together," she said. "It seemed like some kind of daydream, back then, but…we really could do that, couldn't we?"

I grinned at her. "Of course. You can see the world together, at your leisure."

She insisted on limiting her shopping to bookstores. "I only have a few hours, Alice. I'm not going to spend them buying more clothes!" I went along, with the understanding that she owed me. Since our return trip, by no coincidence, included a 30-hour stopover in Paris, she could make good on that debt in the very near future.

Once we were back on the plane, I began monitoring the Volturi more intently. So far, I'd seen Bella meet with them, leave, and come back home safely, but I wasn't taking any chances. I kept watch throughout the flight; Bella's future never shifted significantly.

We landed at the airport in Pisa and hired a rental car to drive from there to Florence, Bella gaping out the window the entire way. "Have you ever been to Europe, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"No! I've never been outside the continental U.S." She looked around at the Tuscan countryside. "I haven't seen or done much."

Carlisle smiled at her. "You're only eighteen, after all - and in actual years. You'll have the opportunity to expand your horizon."

We checked into a three bedroom suite at a hotel in Florence, where we sat down and went over things. "Tell me exactly what you're planning to do," Carlisle instructed her, "while Alice looks for potential problems one last time."

"I'll drive into Volterra, park the car, and proceed to the central bell tower, under the big clock."

I scanned her future. All was well. "Check."

"Go inside the archway under the bell tower. Take the first doorway on the right, follow the corridor to the end. There, I'll find a woman at a reception desk." Edward had seen the corridor, and the desk, in Aro's thoughts during their last meeting. "That part is really odd," Bella added. "The vampire overlords have a reception desk?"

"They always kept things very ordinary, until you get inside their private rooms," Carlisle explained. "There, they drop all pretence. During my time there, the outer building served as offices for textile wholesalers. Now the rooms are rented by several lawyers and an optometrist."

"Why not?" Bella said, shaking her head. "So the human receptionist knows who she's actually working for?"

"Apparently so."

I'll bet they didn't provide much of a retirement plan. "What then, Bella?" I prompted her.

"I tell the woman at the front desk I want to see her employers. I assume she'll take me to the royal audience chamber, or whatever it's called." Carlisle had described the huge, ornate underground room where the Volturi had held court during his stay, and Edward confirmed that it was virtually the same. "They'll be there with members of their guard. I've already met a few of those."

"And left an impression," I said, laughing. Little Jane, in particular, had been severely miffed when she ran into Bella's impenetrable shield. At least, we all _hoped_ it was impenetrable.

"I tell them I've come to let them see for themselves that the Cullens and I have followed their instructions. I'll be polite but not too generous with the information. Aro might invite me to join the Guard, which I'm free to decline, although I should appear extremely grateful for the offer, and I leave - no, first I ask their permission to leave - and come back here as soon as possible."

"Exactly," Carlisle said approvingly. "How does that look, Alice?"

"Good," I said, frowning, "but there's a small possibility, _very_ small, that Aro will push beyond merely inviting Bella to join, and try to coerce her. He may or may not be successful - it goes back and forth. It's like he hasn't made the decision, like it might be influenced by other factors."

"What would make that outcome more or less likely?" Carlisle asked.

We ran through multiple scenarios, many things Bella could say or not say, but nothing seemed to completely eliminate the possibility. In the end, we had to accept that very minute risk.

Once the sun began to set, Bella changed her contact lenses, hugged us both, and set out. She didn't want to delay, saying she'd only spend the time worrying. She took the rented Audi and carried her cell phone with her, so I could contact her right up to the last minute, in case I got a news flash. I watched almost continually from the time she left the hotel, but nothing new was seen. I still kept nervously running through Bella's immediate future, over and over again, watching for minor glitches. Thirty minutes after leaving, she phoned me.

I flipped the phone open. "Bella?" Carlisle turned to listen.

"Hi, Alice. Just checking in. I'm inside the archway of the clock tower. Everything still okay?"

"Perfect. Could you keep the line open while the receptionist goes to announce you? I want to make sure their reaction to your presence doesn't influence the outcome. It won't, I'm sure, but I want to be absolutely certain."

"Okay. Just hold on." I heard the quick, quiet tread of her feet - and no Bella-like shuffling and stumbling, now that she was magnificently graceful - echo through the old stone building; then her voice as she asked to see the landlords. I grinned at Carlisle.

There was a pause. "Ah…s_cusi_?" a courteous female voice replied. "The landlords? I am not sure I understand." Her English was good, although heavily accented.

"Yes," Bella said coolly. "Your three landlords. I need to speak with them."

"I shall ask. Your name, if you please?"

"Isabella Cullen."

I heard high heels tapping away into the distance. "Well?" Bella said into the phone.

"Wait a second," I told her. "Let her bring them your name." We waited in silence as the minutes ticked by.

I kept a close watch on the Volturi's very immediate future. I saw the young woman enter the Volturi's chamber - a room which was designed to impress, even intimidate, although I think Esme could have done a better job with the decor - and whisper Bella's name to a member of the Guard, a painfully thin, black haired male standing just inside the doorway. The black haired one flitted to the Volturi, bowed, and passed the message along. Obviously, this was done as a formality; the Volturi would be perfectly capable of hearing the name from across the chamber, but the name-passing thing made it seem very ceremonial. Aro nodded, and the Guard member returned to the young woman, who had remained waiting in the doorway. "You can bring her in," he told her.

In my vision, the receptionist went back to her desk. "Yes, they will see you now," she told Bella. "Please to follow me." She led Bella to an elevator, unlocked the controls which allowed access to the lower levels, and led her from the elevator door down a corridor to a set of old, heavy double doors. She pushed one open and gestured Bella inside. "Thank you, Gianna," Aro receptionist retreated.

I quickly looked ahead, at the Volturi's future for the remainder of the day, at Bella's future. All clear, apart from that minuscule chance. Otherwise, every possible scenario showed Bella returning to the hotel. I confirmed this over the phone.

"Good," she said. "I'll just stick with the programme, then, and I'm home free."

"We'll see you soon," I said, and hung up.

I reported the situation to Carlisle, and he took out his own cell phone and tapped a key. "Edward? I just wanted to touch base with you." He paused to listen to Edward's anxious inquiries. "Yes, Alice just spoke with Bella by phone. She's going in to see them now." After providing more assurances, Carlisle promised to phone as soon as Bella returned, and ended the call.

We stayed where we were, standing in the middle of the room, looking like unusually lifelike statues. We were both too worried to do anything else. I ran through Bella's future over and over, taking in the almost imperceptible changes that were added every few seconds, confirming to myself that all was well. Suddenly I gasped as the vision shifted. "What is it?" Carlisle asked.

"Aro's thinking about an acquisition," I said. "He hasn't decided for sure. The future's still unsettled."

"What do you mean by an acquisition?"

"Bella and Edward. He's thinking about ways to get both of them in the Guard at once. Keep Bella, Edward will come for her. Have Jane threaten Edward, and Bella will stay. He thinks that might clear the way to getting Jasper and me at some point."

Carlisle's face fell. "I see. But you say he hasn't decided yet?"

"Not yet, but he's plotting. He had Bella demonstrate her gift again, this time against other members of the Guard. None of them could get past her shield. He's thinking of ways to keep her." I moaned in distress, feeling helpless as I watched Aro's plans solidify into a more and more likely future. "It was less than 1% before, now it's 4% and climbing."

Suddenly, it shifted again, sharply this time. The future righted itself, and I saw Bella returning to us, free and unharmed. I told Carlisle this. "Thank God!" he said. "What changed?"

"I'm not sure. Bella was answering questions, speaking with the Volturi, and all at once Aro discarded his plan and decided to let her leave."

"Why?"

"I don't know, but it's clear. Bella will leave the chamber in less than three minutes, and drive directly back here."

Sure as I was, it was a relief to see Bella actually walk through the door of our suite - the real Bella, not a vision of her. I threw my arms around her. "I'm so glad you're back!"

"So am I," she laughed, hugging me almost painfully. She still had her newborn strength.

"Edward phoned," Carlisle said. "He was a little worried."

"I'll call him right away." Bella punched in his number, and the connection click open. "Edward, I'm back at the hotel. It's all over."

"That's such a relief!" I heard him say. Faint cheering could be heard through the phone line. The whole clan must have been gathered, waiting for news. "Was there any difficulty?"

"Not really. They questioned me for a while about when I'd been changed, who had done it, and how I had faked my death. They made me demonstrate my shield again. They asked a little bit about the family, and wanted to know where you were living now. I couldn't think of a good reason for refusing to tell them," she said apologetically.

Carlisle gave her a reassuring smile. "That's fine, Bella. They would have been able to find us in any case."

"Well, after that, Aro started talking about the work the Volturi did, how valuable it was, and finally asked me if I might consider joining their Guard."

"Alice warned you that might happen," Edward said.

"Yes, she did. Anyway, I said no thanks, but Aro kept asking, telling me that my gift could contribute to their work. He said my mate's gift could be of service as well, and when he mentioned you, I…well, I just had a feeling that he was trying to threaten me. I'm not sure why I felt that way, because he hadn't said anything yet that was threatening, or even unfriendly, but somehow I knew the threat was there."

"You mentioned that your secondary gift is becoming clearer."

"I guess that's it. I'm still not used to the whole idea."

"Since you're safely back, I assume Aro didn't take any measures to keep you there?"

"No. I had this odd idea. When I got the feeling he was planning to make me stay, I took up the subject he'd started, about how valuable their work is. I started talking about some stuff Jasper told me. How the Volturi keep the vampire world safe through their devotion to the law. I said the Volturi are admired everywhere because they follow the law fairly, without bias and without looking for any personal gain."

"You were laying it on pretty thick," I observed.

"Yeah. I just felt like that was called for. Caius started kind of glaring at Aro while I was talking, and it looked like what I said brought up old business between them. Anyway, after that Aro stopped asking me to stay. He dropped the subject and just said congratulations and welcome, and that he hoped I'd come back and see them again some day; then he gave me a present and asked me to say hello to Carlisle and the entire coven. Is that what we are?" she asked. "A coven?"

Edward laughed. "We prefer _family_, but coven is the usual term. Well, I'm very relieved. I hope you weren't too frightened."

"A little nervous."

"But what present did Aro give you?" I asked.

"Um, I'm not sure. I haven't really looked at it yet." She took an ornate gold and enamel box out of her purse and handed it to me. "Is it for keeping rings in or something?"

I snickered. "Bella, I think this is just the gift box. The present is inside."

"Oh."

I examined the box briefly. "Fabergé. Nice."

"The Volturi's treasure is extremely diverse," Carlisle said. "They've stolen valuables from every corner of the globe."

Bella glared at it. "A Hallmark gift bag's not good enough for them, I suppose."

I held the box out to Bella. "Well, open it."

"You go ahead, Alice," she said. She seemed a little unwilling to touch it.

I shrugged and lifted the lid. It contained a bracelet, a heavy gold cuff with an intricate floral design made of inlaid rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. "Boy howdy! What empress did they pilfer _this _from?"

"Mughal empire, I believe," Carlisle said, studying it. "An interesting acquisition."

"What is it?" Edward asked through the phone.

"Some gaudy bracelet," Bella said dismissively.

I had to laugh at her casual scorn for a bauble worth at least two million. "It seems you've gotten past being intimidated by expensive jewelry."

She shrugged. "Just like the Volturi to not even _consider_ how we'd get this thing through Customs!"


	9. Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Our return trip was slowed down, just a little, by the fact that we now had checked luggage. I bought two large suitcases in Paris to hold my purchases, and left them in trunk of a rental car while I led Bella through the blessedly rainy city streets on a lightning tour of preselected boutiques. In spite of the time constraints, it was a fruitful shopping trip even by my standards. Bella was fretting to get home to Edward and EJ, and it would've been a challenge to keep her there if we hadn't had to wait for our flight - as I'd foreseen in choosing that particular day and time for our trip. I had a wonderful time choosing clothing for Bella, and had even found a few items for Rose and Esme, and some truly adorable dresses for the baby.

As we waited at the luggage carousel, Bella said, "You realize the closet in our cottage isn't going to be big enough for all this?"

"We'll have to enlarge it, then. Esme's been wanting to finish the place off." Carlisle snagged the larger of the two suitcases as it came around on the conveyer belt, and I let Bella take two carry-ons so I could wheel the other one. I gloated happily over the treasures within. "EJ needs a closet, too."

"Also a bed," Bella said. At the mention of her daughter, she began walking a little faster. "She'll outgrow her crib before long."

In fact, we were all anxious to get home. Carlisle stayed close to the speed limit as we left the airport, but once he came to a deserted stretch of road closer to our home, he hit the gas, and we reached the house in record time. We dumped the luggage inside the door and turned to accept the family's greetings: hugs and kisses, congratulations and expressions of relief. My eyes stayed on Jasper while I exchanged embraces and high fives. I watched his future continually, but it was never the same as seeing him with my actual eyes. He approached me and I took his hand, and felt well again.

Bella ran into Edward's arms, sighing with relief, but almost immediately said, "Where's EJ?"

"Outside, with Rosalie," Edward said, kissing her. "She wanted to know the name of every plant she can see. Rosalie?" he called, and Rose darted through the back door, EJ in her arms. The baby had grown measurably in the short time we'd been away.

"Bella! What a relief! I was worried," Rose said, hugging Bella and kissing her forehead tenderly. I exchanged a look with Jazz. I was even more convinced that his 'grandmother' interpretation was right. Bella had been adopted.

EJ eagerly reached for her mother, and Bella scooped her up. "Ohh, my little girl, I missed you so much!" She whirled around, making the baby laugh, and kissed her repeatedly. It was lovely to see. At last, EJ took the time to say hello to me and 'Grandpa' before settling down on her mama's lap to show picture-stories about all that had happened while Bella was gone.

Bella raised an eyebrow at one of the revelations. "You let her swim? What was that water she was showing me? The waves looked awfully big."

"Lake Winnipesaukee," Tanya said. "Near our new place."

"She liked it," Rosalie said, smiling at EJ. "Didn't you, darling?"

Bella looked worried. "Isn't she a little young for swimming in a lake?"

"We don't have a swimming pool," Emmett said, "and she could only swim somewhere private, where she couldn't be seen."

"We went out on a rainy day," Edward said, "and chose an area without a sandy beach. We had the area to ourselves."

"But you have to be careful with her in the water," Bella protested. "She needs to breathe. It might be possible for her to drown."

"We stayed close by, love," Edward assured her. "Several of us were in the water with her the entire time."

"Even human babies go to baby swim classes," Rosalie pointed out. "EJ's a lot stronger and more coordinated than any of them."

"That's true," Bella conceded. EJ placed a hand against her face, and she smiled reluctantly. "Yes, I can see you had fun. Are you a good swimmer?" The baby nodded.

"She's an excellent swimmer," Edward confirmed proudly. "She caught on in no time."

"I've got to teach her to dive. Ten meter high dive - I bet she'd like that," Emmett said, adding, as he saw Bella's expression, "later on, when she's older."

I grimaced slightly. The high dive reference reminded me of the time Bella had almost died, jumping from a cliff into the ocean. Not that long ago, but it seemed like another lifetime. Edward sighed, probably picking up my thoughts. _She's so happy now_, I thought. _Happier than she ever could have been in her other life. All that misery and pain you both went through, trying to keep her human. When you're wrong, Edward, you're really wrong_. He gave me a smirk. Probably no one had ever been happier to be proven wrong.

EJ showed her mother the rest of her story, while Edward sat beside them, an arm around Bella, watching the images pass through his daughter's mind. Esme was on Carlisle's lap, and Jazz and I stood with our arms around each other. The picture stories came to an end, and Bella asked, "What about all of you? What's been going on while we were away?"

"Not so much," Emmett said. "Kate signed up for college."

"That's a surprise," I said. "It must have been a very last minute decision." I hadn't seen anything about it. Of course, my attention had been occupied for the past few days.

"It was," Tanya agreed. "She had to pay some kind of penalty for late registration, but they let her in. She's taking sociology. She thinks it will give her insight into modern day humans."

"It might," Carlisle said skeptically.

"If college works out for her, I might consider it another time," Tanya said. "You seem to have no trouble blending in with the community as students, and we've all thought of following your example."

"You could start with high school," Emmett suggested, laughing as the rest of us made faces.

Tanya held up her hands as though warding off an attack. "Please, no! College I can manage, but not high school! It sounds tedious beyond description."

"Can't disagree with that," Edward said ruefully.

"Besides, I think we look a little too old for high school. Me, especially." That was true. All three sisters had been changed in their twenties; and while Tanya was no older than the others, she had a look of maturity about her that would stand out in a high school classroom.

"No, not high school," Tanya said, "but we may all start attending college next year. It provides an excuse for living in a place several years without employment."

"Besides," Eleazar added, "education is never a waste."

"Very true," Carlisle agreed.

"I know you're both great advocates of higher learning," Tanya said teasingly. "Especially Carlisle. How many degrees does your family have among them?"

"Many," Carlisle said, smiling. "Well, my very best wishes for Kate's new endeavour. Especially as she is testing the waters for the rest of you."

"Where is Kate today?" I asked. "And Irina?"

"In Hanover, at a fraternity party." Tanya smirked. "Campus social life is part of the college experience, after all."

I snickered. "Those poor, unsuspecting frat boys!"

EJ placed her hand on Bella's face, looking up at her curiously. "Oh, college is a kind of school. A special place where you go to learn things. Understand?" EJ nodded, and touched Bella once more. "Well…yes, I suppose you might go to school. When you're older. Right now, you'll have to let us teach you, okay?" Another nod, and the baby rested her head against Bella, continuing to listen in on the conversation. I saw Bella and Edward exchange a look.

It was an interesting question. Would EJ eventually attend school? Would she be able to be around humans? How would she develop once she left infancy? Everything about the little girl was uncertain, and I knew Edward and Bella worried about her.

When the sun began to set, Bella took EJ to a quiet corner with the book they'd been reading. She'd started reading aloud to her daughter when she was less than a week old, and although EJ could read well enough on her own, she still liked the ritual of the bedtime story. The choice of story was less traditional; Bella alternated between children's stories and adult literature, ranging from poetry to carefully selected novels with G-rated content. When we left for Italy, she'd just finished reading EJ The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, and tonight she started on The Wind in the Willows. Edward took a place near them.

We all lowered our voices while storytime was in progress. "Did anything else happen while we were away?" Carlisle asked.

"I found a possible house for us," Esme told him, "for, probably, two or three moves from now. It's a defunct brewery."

"How terribly glamourous," Carlisle said, grinning.

She laughed. "It has some very nice architectural elements. I think I could make a home of it."

He smiled at her. "I'm sure you could. Do we need to purchase it now, or will it stand empty until we're ready to start renovations?"

They looked at me. "Where is it?" I asked. Esme provided the name of a town in Minnesota, and I tried to find it. It's harder when I'm looking for something I've never actually seen in real life. "Can I go with you some time to see the site?" I asked.

"Certainly," Esme said.

That helped. I tried looking into our own future, seeing us visiting the town, on a typically cloudy day. "Not a very sunny place," I remarked.

"No," Esme agreed. "It seems ideal."

I watched us looking over a deserted structure, a faded sign reading Jewel Brewery still visible over the main door. "Is it a rectangular brick building, with Art Deco features around the doors and windows? Jewel is the company name?"

"That's right."

I scanned forward. "It's still standing ten years from now, although it's a little the worse for wear. There's a For Sale sign on the door that looks very weathered. Do you need to see further than that?"

"No, thank you, dear. That should do. I'm not sure if we'll even be in the country at that point, but I'll keep it in mind."

I nodded. We had places we could all resort to in an emergency, of course, but otherwise our next move, the location of our next home was still unclear. Eventually, Bella would want to come out of hiding and take part in human type activities, like college and shopping, and we weren't too sure when that would be safe. Her picture might still pop up on news reports occasionally. For that matter, we weren't completely sure when it would be okay to let EJ join the outside world, and I couldn't even help them with that. Her future remained a blank to me.

Bella concluded the first chapter, which happened to include Mole's first trip away from his home into the wide world, where he learned to swim, among other things. EJ had started to yawn, and before Bella had finished the first paragraph of Chapter Two, she had conked out, her head resting against Bella's shoulder. When we were certain she was soundly asleep, Carmen asked, "What happened in Volterra? We've only heard that you saw the Volturi, and returned safely. Tell us all about it."

"The trip there was uneventful," Carlisle said. "Alice kept watch until the very moment Bella entered their audience hall. There was only one concern, when she saw Aro contemplating…well, you heard about that, and how it concluded."

"Indeed," Eleazar said. "Was the hall the same as when I resided there, I wonder? Has the Guard grown?"

"From what you described, and what Carlisle described, it's almost exactly the same," I told him. "I think I saw a new Guard member, though. He was standing by the chamber door, like a footman; tall and skinny, with black hair?"

"You're right; I think he's new. Perhaps Aro found someone with a particularly intriguing gift."

"Would the Volturi have a Guardsman who wasn't gifted?" Bella asked. "Just to be an actual footman?"

"In my experience, it would be highly unusual," Eleazar said. "The Volturi - particularly Aro - like to select Guard members who have unique abilities. They are chosen for the usefulness of their gifts, primarily, but also for their distinctiveness. Even someone who did the work of a common servant - answering the chamber door, for example - would probably be gifted in some way. You could make the comparison with the kings and queens of Europe, who used to select members of the nobility to perform personal tasks: lords and ladies given the honour of turning down the royal bed, fetching the royal breakfast, and so forth. A kind of affectation. The Volturi take a similar approach to their own attendants, except that innate gifts replace rank."

"They're very full of themselves, aren't they?" Bella muttered.

"Bella doesn't much care for the Volturi," Jasper observed. He and Emmett were engaged in a bout of Dragon Hunter III on the game unit. Em was almost certainly going to lose, as he usually did when competing with Jasper, but was giving it his best shot. Jasper had said he admired the way Emmett preferred a challenging opponent over a greater chance of victory.

"I met them when I was still human. They made kind of a bad first impression," she said.

"Yeah," Emmett agreed, "death threats tend to do that. Ha! Extra weapons!" he said, clicking buttons rapidly and providing his avatar with a bow and magic arrows.

"I wasn't any more impressed this time," Bella went on. "Aro started hinting that they might get at Edward if I didn't agree to join them. More crazy death threats!"

"Psycho killer," Emmett sang softly, clicking away at his control buttons. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Did they directly threaten Edward?" Carlisle asked.

"No, never directly. Just hinted, in the vaguest possible way."

"A nice man, your husband," Emmett said, in a gruff Don Corleone voice. "It would be a shame if, God forbid, he should meet with an unexpected accident."

"We heard your response, of course," Carlisle said. "It seems to me nothing would be more effective than pointing out the Volturi's dedication to the law. It is something Aro, in particular, is deeply proud of."

"Why did it make Caius so mad?" Bella asked.

"That is a subject that has created a conflict between them for some years," Eleazar said. "Caius fears that Aro's fascination with collecting gifted individuals is going to destroy their credibility and influence. Aro is sometimes willing to overstep the law in order to obtain a promising recruit, and Caius argues that their reputation for upholding the law for the protection of all is the main thing that prevents uprisings. The vampire world accepts the Volturi's authority, partly because it is thought to be scrupulously fair. Bella's comments would have reminded Caius of their ongoing dispute; pointed out that Aro was, once again, pushing boundaries in order to acquire another addition to the Guard."

Bella nodded. "I see. Well, I'm glad it worked."

"You didn't understand the reason your comments were effective?" Carmen asked.

"No. I just had a feeling they would be."

"Interesting. Your second gift seems to operate almost on an unconscious level."

"Well, it _did_ use to come from her dreams," I pointed out.

"We really should help Bella work on developing it," Tanya said, "Like she did with her shield."

"But where's the present?" Emmett asked. "Didn't the Volturi give you some piece of the Crown Jewels or something?"

"Not quite." She started to get up carefully, holding the sleeping EJ in her arms, but I quickly tossed her handbag to her. "Thanks, Alice." She took out the jewelled box and opened it.

"Nice token," Tanya said, picking up the bracelet and examining it.

"It's not a token," Bella said grimly, "it's a bribe. _Attempted_ bribe, that is."

"The Volturi may not think of it that way," Jasper said. Onscreen, his avatar successfully captured yet another dragon's egg. Emmett growled at the setback. "It may simply be their way of showing their interest, saying they'd welcome your contribution. Or even just what they stated it was: a welcome gift."

"I don't understand why you defend them," Bella said.

"Because," he said, his eyes still on the TV screen, "I've seen how bad things can get when they're_ not _involved."

"It's true, Bella," Eleazar said. "The Volturi provide a necessary service. Our kind could not live safely and secretly without them. There would also be no other recourse against powerful alliances of vampires, like the ones who fought in the south years ago. It could be, as you suggest, that they are corrupt and self-serving, but they do serve the law as well. We need them."

"I suppose so," Bella said grudgingly, "but I hope I never have to see them again."

"Most likely you won't," Jasper said, "unless you do something incredibly out of line."

"Fat chance," Emmett said. "She's the Goody Two Shoes of the vampire world." Bella stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed.

"Jasper is right," Eleazar said. "The Volturi rarely leave their palace. It would take a serious infraction to bring them in person. At most, two or three members of the Guard might come in person to correct some dangerous behaviour or other."

"It's kind of odd, then, that they all came to deal with Victoria and her newborns," Bella said.

"Unusual, yes," Eleazar mused, "but not unreasonable, if they thought a new war among newborn armies might be underway."

"They showed up in person to deal with the southern armies," Jasper said.

"They had an ulterior motive, in this case," Edward said. "I heard it in their thoughts. Aro wanted to look in on Carlisle. Apparently he'd heard accounts of the growing family, and of the fact that we'd become acquainted with a former member of the Guard. He was curious; I'm not sure if there was more to it than that."

They all looked questioningly at me. "I haven't seen them take any action involving us," I said, "but I'll keep an eye on them."

"Thank you, Alice," Carlisle said.

The conversation moved on to lighter topics. "Are those the things you bought in Paris?" Tanya asked me.

"Yes! Most of them are for Bella. Her wardrobe is still pretty inadequate." I saw Bella look at the ceiling, and grinned at her. "But I have an item or two in there for others, as well. Do you want to try on some of the highlights, Bella?"

She glanced down at the sleeping baby in her arms. "Not tonight, Alice. Tomorrow, okay?

"Bella, do you mind if I look?" Tanya asked, gesturing to the suitcases.

"No, go right ahead."

Tanya and I took out a few selections, and I distributed the clothes I'd bought for other family members. Even Emmett could now appreciate quality clothing, and he grinned as I tossed him a hand-stitched grey silk shirt - a hard thing to find in his size. Emmett gave me hope: if he could learn to enjoy being well dressed, I knew I could win over Bella eventually.

Bella accepted a particularly becoming wrap dress to take back to the cottage and wear tomorrow. The rest was repacked.

"It's been ages since I've been in Paris," Tanya sighed. "It would be fun to go together some time." There was a general assent.

"Maybe during Spring break," Rose suggested.

"Yes; now that Kate's a co-ed, we have to work around times when class is in session," Tanya agreed. "It's a new experience for us."

"How come Irina's at the frat party?" Emmett asked. "Just helping Kate size up prospective conquests, or is she thinking of going to college, too?"

"Both," Tanya said, giving him a smirk. "She was wondering if she looked too mature, and I suggested colouring her hair blue."

"That would lend an air of immaturity," Carlisle agreed.

Bella glanced uncertainly at Tanya. "Speaking of hair, can I ask something, well, something that might be a little out of line?"

"Oh, those are always the best questions." Tanya sat up, interested. "Ask, ask."

"I was wondering about Irina's hair." She gestured with one hand at chin-length, where Irina's blonde hair ended. "Every other female I've seen, apart from Alice, has long hair. Rosalie said it wasn't the custom for women to cut their hair until the early twentieth century; but Irina is from…"

"From long before the twentieth century," Tanya agreed. "Is _that _your idea of being out of line?"

"She's too polite for her own good," Rosalie said, giving Bella a smile.

Tanya chuckled. "Irina had her hair cut short because she was very sick, near the end of her human life. It was a common practice. A woman's long hair was believed to sap her strength, so if she became dangerously ill, it would be cut short to aid her recovery. Irina isn't even sure what disease she suffered from. In the advanced stages of the disease, she lost consciousness, and woke up in a coffin in the back of a cart, her transformation already underway." Tanya cocked an eyebrow at Bella. "Almost too much of a stereotype, isn't it? The coffin and all."

Bella smiled weakly. "I suppose so. Why was she in a cart?"

"Being taken away from the graveyard, where she'd been transported for burial, but for some reason was left above ground. Possibly the gravedigger went away for fear of infection."

"But…I don't understand. She was sent to the graveyard before she was dead?" Bella asked.

"It seems she was believed dead. It was quite possible at that time to mistake deep unconsciousness for death. I think that happened in Esme's case, in fact."

"It did," Esme confirmed. "Fortunately, Carlisle was there, and saw I was still alive." Her eyes met Carlisle's, and Jasper smiled faintly as he drank in their emotions.

"So Irina was taken from the graveyard by the person who changed her?" Bella asked. "Do you have any idea who that was?"

"Oh, yes," Tanya replied, with false lightness, her smile fading. "It was Sasha, our mother, who found her, and brought her into our family."

"Oh!" Bella looked around at us in alarm. We'd warned her not to refer to their late lamented mother. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize…!"

"It's all right, _sestrenka_," Tanya said. "We don't like to mention our mother; it makes us sad to remember her. But occasionally her name must come up, and I suppose it is good to recall sometimes, even if it hurts. There is no need for you to walk in eggs."

"Walk _on _eggs," Jasper corrected.

"Oh, _on_ makes more sense," Tanya nodded, seeming to put aside her sad memories. Or maybe Jasper had given her a hand with that. "So, Irina was forever left with hair like a boy's, something to cover up or explain away, until the time when women all began bobbing their hair, and she found herself not boyish any longer, but fashionable. I think you have another question in mind," she said, looking sidewise at Bella.

"Kind of a silly one."

"Oh, those are good, too." She smiled impishly, and Bella grinned back.

"Well, in both our families, there's an awfully large number of blondes. Natural blondes can't make up a huge percentage of even the Caucasian population. I just wondered if there's any particular reason why they're so, er, over-represented."

Edward burst out laughing. "You really do sound like Carlisle sometimes." We had to laugh. It was true; that was just the kind of analytical response Carlisle would have to a superfluity of blondes.

"Bella," I said, very seriously, "don't you realize that vampires, like gentlemen, prefer blondes? Blondes are eight times more likely to be bitten by a vampire than brunettes."

Her eyes widened. "They _are_? So…"

Emmett's guffaw gave it away, and I giggled. "No, sweetie, I'm kidding. It's pure coincidence."

"Coincidence, yes," Tanya agreed, "and in the case of my sisters and me, I think there were more blondes in the area we all come from - more than here."

"I see," Bella said. "Thanks."

"You're very welcome, _sestrenka_. I like your questions. Ask me more whenever you want." She grinned. "Especially if you think of something truly _out of line_ to ask."

Edward caught my eye. _Go figure!_ I thought Yes, it surprised both of us that Bella and Tanya would be getting on like a house afire; but, as Edward always says, Bella never fails to surprise.

EJ sighed softly in her sleep. "We should take her home to bed," Edward said, and he and Bella rose to say their goodbyes before carrying the sleeping EJ out the back door and across the starlit fields to their cottage.

"They seem very happy together," Tanya noted.

"They are," Jasper said - the one person who could speak with authority on the subject. "Edward is happier than I've ever known him to be. They're both so perpetually joyful, it's a pleasure to be around them."

"A happy ending," Irina concluded, "to a very strange and complicated story."

Autumn came, and asters and chrysanthemums bloomed in Esme's garden. The cottage on our adjoining property was renovated, bit by bit, during the day when it was unoccupied. Bella had her walk-in closet, and EJ's bedroom was decorated in whites and pastels, and furnished with a beautiful little canopy bed.

Classes began at Dartmouth, and Rose and Emmett, Jasper and I all attended, along with Kate. Bella was excluded this time, of course. She had to remain out of sight following her fatal heroics; and besides, she wanted to stay close to EJ at this point. Edward cancelled his acceptance to the music department, allowing people to presume it was out of grief at the death of his girlfriend, and he and Bella devoted themselves to EJ's care and education. And, of course, to each other; they were very much the typical newlyweds, apart from already having a child.

Attempts were being made to gradually wean the baby off human blood. EJ was good as gold about not hunting humans, but didn't like the idea of giving up her cruelty-free product. She was able to eat and drink human type food, but she didn't really care for it, much preferring human or even animal blood. We weren't sure how far to indulge this preference. It might mean food was good for her but not all that tasty, or it could indicate her body required blood. We didn't like to take chances with her health, so we didn't try to force food on her. Carlisle had restocked his supply of donated blood twice, but was reluctant to push his luck by obtaining more. Therefore, we started taking the little tyke along with us when hunting, and if necessary caught and incapacitated small animals for her. She was getting better at it, and by the end of September could run down smaller species on her own.

A rather weird preference of hers was the feral cats who had populated an area of forest. They were frequently in poor health, and EJ liked to pinpoint the ones with diseases and broken legs and such, and hunt them specifically. Emmett thought her cat euthanasia programme was hilarious, but we were all kind of pleased with her instinctive kindness.

Carlisle started his night shift at the hospital the first week of October, and our cover story was fully in place.

The lack of school attendance was no problem for our littlest member; EJ wasn't a hard person to teach. She was curious about everything. We all became used to having her observe an action or hear a remark from one of us, and leap into his or her arms to ask the meaning of it. That meant hearing about the Civil War, splenectomies, Coco Chanel, the life cycle of the boll weevil, the Great Depression, scat singing, tire rotation, and the Cuban Missile Crisis before she had learned to divide and multiply. Her education may have been eclectic, but it was thorough.

At one point she developed a fascination with maps. Edward obtained an oversized world map, the kind they usually put up in classrooms, and hung it on the kitchen wall, along with a smaller map of North America, and another of New Hampshire. She seemed to like the concept of real places being translated into printed representations.

"That's where your Aunt Rosalie was born," I told her, pointing to Rochester. That intrigued her, and she pointed to me. "Me? Oh, I was born right here." I indicted Biloxi. She touched me, asking how far away the place was. I quickly estimated. "If we ran fast all the way, it would take four or five hours." She then asked for the birthplaces of other family members, and was particularly intrigued by the fact that Carlisle had come from across the ocean. She pictured him swimming, and I said, "No, honey. He swam to here," I pointed to France, "but after that he went on a ship. A big boat." She seemed familiar with the concept of ships.

I showed her Edward's birthplace, Chicago. She touched me, inquiring whether her mother was born there, too. "No, Mama was born 'way down here." I pointed to Phoenix, just as Bella walked into the room. EJ ran to her, placing her hand against Bella's forearm and looking up into her face.

"No, I didn't meet your papa for years after that." More questions seemed to be coming in. "Well…Papa was born here," she pointed to Chicago, "and that was where he met Grandpa Carlisle. They lived there a while, then moved to other places. And I was born here, in a city called Phoenix. Then the family moved to this town, called Forks," she showed EJ on the map, "right at the same time I went to live in Forks, to stay with my father. That's where we met. Then we all moved here, and Papa and I got married, and we had you."

EJ had zoomed in on something Bella had said, and pressed her palms against Bella's arm, looking up at her earnestly. Bella looked a little uneasy. "Well, I lived with my mother, down in Phoenix, and I came to stay with my father for a while, that's all." More questions. "Sure, I had a mother; I lived with her, but she and my father lived apart." Another interrogative pause. "They just did. They didn't get along very well, so I lived with my mother most of the time, and visited my father for a while every year."

Another question, and Bella hesitated. "Actually, they're…both still living in the same places." EJ jumped into Bella's arms, touched her face. "You can't meet them, sweetheart. They're both human. Even I can't see them any more." This led to a long and difficult discussion, which the entire family ended up participating in. EJ finally came to understand and accept the need for secrecy, something she would have to know eventually anyway.

She was a little sad to know she had grandparents she could never meet. That first message I'd heard from her mind, seeing strangers as _more people to love; people who will love me_, still defined her attitude to everyone, human and vampire alike, and would probably apply even more to her mama's parents. She climbed into Edward's arms and touched his face.

"Possibly," he answered slowly. "Maybe when you're all grown up, we might be able to manage it."

"What does she want?" Bella asked.

"She wants to know if she can at least see your parents some time, without their knowing it."

"Oh! Maybe, sweetheart, once you're older."

She seemed satisfied with that. "You know," Edward told her, "you're named after your mama's mother. Your middle name, Renee, is _her_ name." She touched Edward, asking the predictable question. "You're named Elizabeth after _my_ mother," he said, his expression changing as he realized too late what the next question would be. "No, my sweet. I'm afraid she died a long time ago." EJ rested her head on his shoulder pensively, and he finally asked, "Do you understand about dying?"

She thought a moment, and laid her hand on his cheek. He nodded. "Yes, I know you've seen animals die. Humans die eventually. Sometimes they're sick or hurt, but even if they're not, once they get old enough, they just stop living." EJ pressed her hand to Edward's face once more, for a longer question. He seemed momentarily stumped. "Well…when animals die, I'm pretty sure they just, er, stop. They're like plants that die. You've seen that, right, in Grandma Esme's garden? Once plants die, they just decay and turn back into soil. Understand?" EJ nodded solemnly. "Animals do the same."

Once again, she replied with the inevitable question. "Humans? Well, their bodies turn to dust, just like plants and animals, but…but with humans, there may be more to it." His eyes went desperately to Carlisle, who dutifully intervened at that point, and took EJ off for a very careful talk about the concept of the afterlife.

"Her questions are getting harder," Bella pointed out.

"Yes," Edward agreed, looking rattled. "And most parents wouldn't have to deal with such things in their child's first year of life."

They looked at each other with that concerned expression they always got whenever EJ's unusual growth pattern came up. We'd more or less hit a dead end in our online research, and were trying to find other ways to know what to expect from the little mystery in the months and years to come. We were discussing just that, in fact, when a vision hit me unexpectedly and I broke off in the middle of a sentence.

Carlisle looked at me curiously. "Alice?"

I focused on him again. "We're going to have company. Charlotte and Peter are coming."


	10. Personal Growth

In a way, Bella had less to learn than the average newborn. There was no need to train her to be inconspicuous, for one thing. I might have guessed that avoiding attention would be something Bella would have a natural aptitude for. She could also skip learning how to hunt safely; she could control her thirst almost perfectly from the very first day. As the weeks passed, we had opportunities to test her limits, and she was always in control - around humans, around fresh blood, even in mid-hunt. She baffled science.

That left her free to develop in other ways.

She was a very devoted mother, and spent most of her time with EJ; but with two doting grandparents, four loving aunts and uncles, and five affectionate cousins in the picture, EJ was never without a friend, tutor, playmate or friendly lap to cuddle up on. Rosalie, especially, was always quick to volunteer. If Bella wanted to take some time to read, hold a conversation, or go hunting alone with Edward, her daughter was always in good hands.

Reading was her first indulgence, once she accepted that she didn't need to be focused on her daughter every waking minute. Carlisle came home from his night shift early one morning to find us in the living room, engaged in our various activities, as usual. Jasper was teaching EJ to play chess, and trying to curb her tendency to indulge in flamboyantly risky manoeuvres. Edward and Bella were curled up together on the floor, reading. Carlisle greeted us all, kissed Esme, and turned to the happy couple. "Bella, this is the first time since your change that I've seen you reading a book, except when you read aloud to EJ."

She smiled up at him. "I know; other things always seemed to take precedence. But I had some spare time, so I thought I'd try re-reading a novel I used to like."

I glanced at the title from across the room; Pride and Prejudice. "That's a favourite of mine, too." Bella looked at me dubiously. "I _do_ read more than just financial reports and _Vogue Italia, _you know." I tossed my head indignantly.

"Oh, Alice, I didn't mean…"

"I'm just teasing, Bella." She made a face at me.

"You say it was a book you _used_ to like?" Carlisle sat down with Esme in his lap.

"When I was human. I wanted to see if it would seem different to me now."

"I see. And does it?"

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Yes and no. I still like the story, and the writing, as much as I did before. Now, though, it's easier to…take it all in. I can kind of analyze the humour, the choice of words, think about historical context and compare characters with those from Austen's other novels, and still not be the least bit distracted from the story itself. That's _weird_!"

Edward looked up from his own book, smiling. "Is it really?"

"I couldn't do that before; I'd have to deal with one thing at a time. And it's also weird that I remember everything so perfectly. I've read the first four chapters, and I could recite every word from memory." She looked worried. "Does that spoil re-reading a book for you?"

"A little," Edward said, "but reading a book a second time is different from simply remembering it. I still re-read favourites occasionally."

Bella nodded, idly tracing the embossed lettering on her book cover. "I know I've read this book more than once, but it's hard to recall in detail. It's odd how vague my human memories seem now. Will they really keep on fading?"

"They tend to," Carlisle said.

She sighed. "I'd hate to think I'll eventually forget everything. My parents, and my childhood, and meeting Edward and all of you. My wedding. Even expecting EJ."

"You can keep your human memories intact if you recall them now," Rosalie told her.

Bella shrugged. "How do you mean?"

"Think of a specific thing you'd like to remember, a person, an event, whatever. Recall as much as you can about it." Bella still looked confused. "The memories were saved by your human brain, but you're recalling those things using your new, perfect memory."

"Oh, I see!" Bella sat up. "It's like scanning an old analog photograph and saving it on your hard drive."

"That's the idea," Rose agreed. "If the original photo is blurry, the permanent copy will be, too; but at least it will never become any more faded than it already is."

"That's great! Thanks, Rosalie." She set her book aside and sat with her eyes closed. "I'm going to do some serious uploading." She remained there, immobile, for the better part of an hour, only leaving off when EJ wanted her attention.

In the afternoon, the Denali cousins came by. "Congratulate me," Kate said. "I got a B on my first research paper."

"How did you manage to get less than an A?" Rosalie asked. "You must have an advantage over the rest of the class."

"I didn't want it to be too good. It might raise suspicion." I rolled my eyes. You could tell it was her first time at college. She was such an amateur! "I'll go for an A next time."

"How do you like Sociology?" Emmett asked. "Are you stuffed to the gills with insight about the human condition?"

"Not yet, but give it a chance," Kate said. "I do like college, though, so far."

"It's too bad Bella and Edward have to sit out this time around," Irina said.

"We don't mind," Bella said. "We can always go to college later, but EJ will only be a child for such a short time."

"Besides," Jasper added, "They can study at home. Edward's keeping up with cases for his next time in law school, and Bella wants to start learning a second language."

"Which language did you choose?" Eleazar asked.

"I haven't, yet," Bella said. "I was thinking I should start with Spanish, since I studied it a little bit when I was human."

"That is obviously the best choice," Eleazar said solemnly, and Carmen laughed. "Once you have a romance language mastered, it will be all the easier to absorb the others."

"That's what I'm hoping."

"Of course, Italian is the unofficial international language of the vampire world," Rosalie pointed out.

Bella looked surprised. "It is?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes, at least for many centuries."

"What was it before that?"

"Romanian."

"Romanian?" Bella looked around to make sure it wasn't a joke. "You mean, all those stories about Transylvania being Vampire Central are true?"

Carlisle laughed. "Probably none of them are completely true; but there is some basis in reality, at least as far as geography goes. The rulers of the vampire world used to be a Romanian coven."

"Do I want to know how they got replaced?" Bella looked at Jasper, who shook his head. "Okay," she said evenly. "I'll keep Italian in mind."

"But right now," Kate said, "we were hoping you'd be up for a little practice. The newborn here has talents to develop."

"As long as it doesn't involve more electrocution," Bella said. "But there's only one talent I can develop."

"That's not what Eleazar thinks," Irina said.

"I'm not disagreeing, but I don't see how I can do anything with that other one. I'm not even conscious of it happening."

"We'll see what we can come up with."

We all headed outside, carefully determined that the area was deserted, and led Bella through her paces. She used her shield to block individuals, groups, and finally all but one person at the same time. She was able to do it, but it still seemed like an effort.

"You don't quite have it," Kate told her.

"But I was able to do everything you asked me to!" Bella objected.

"It should be more effortless. Your shield is part of you. Place it under your control. Use it like you would use a limb." Bella looked mystified.

"It should be like moving your feet when you walk," Eleazar said. "What you're doing now is like using your hands to lift each foot and place it a step ahead, as if your feet were inanimate objects you had no control over. That makes it laborious."

"You can see how to do it," Kate insisted. "Use your _other_ gift to tell you what to do."

"I don't know how to use my other one. It just comes to me sometimes."

"What times?"

"I don't know. At random."

Kate snorted. "Sure it does."

Bella frowned. "You think I'm lying? Why would I?"

"To avoid having to work on it. Lazybones." She smirked at Bella. "Fine, fine. I can't make you do it." While Bella was still glaring at her, Kate walked away, approaching Edward. "Can you take the trouble to shield your Edward? Or do I have to make it worth your while again?" She held her hand poised over his shoulder.

"Kate…" Edward said uneasily.

"Calm down, Edward. I won't use it full strength."

"It's not that." He nodded toward Bella, who was obviously fuming. "Don't forget you're dealing with a newborn. She's under admirable control, but you shouldn't push your luck too far."

"She's not, though." Bella said. "She's pretending."

Kate's head whipped around to look at her. "How do you know?" she demanded.

"I just…"

"Don't tell me you _just know_. Think about it! How did you find that knowledge? What did you feel, what did you do?"

Bella still looked annoyed, but she paused, seeming to think. "I was upset."

"I'll apologize later, Bella," Kate said impatiently, "but…"

"No, no. Every time I saw things, I was upset. It was always when I was in danger, or very unhappy, or…just feeling unsettled one way or another. I would see what was really going on. It was like…finding the curtain, and pulling it away."

"Curtain?" I said. "Like in 'pay no attention to that man behind the curtain'?"

"_Exactly_ like that. I know it sounds silly..."

"No, that's good," Eleazar said. "A metaphor often helps the gifted to pinpoint and control their gifts. Picture the curtain, Bella. What is it covering right now?"

"There isn't any right now…oh!"

"What?" Eleazar asked eagerly.

"I can use my shield if I get mad."

"You see that?"

"Yes! I don't even have to be really mad. I can sort of think angry thoughts, and it'll…" She paused. "Edward? Tell me when you stop hearing."

"Stop hearing who?" he asked, and immediately his eyes widened. "You've _all _gone silent."

Bella giggled delightedly. "I can sort of _throw_ it. Eleazar, you're right; it's so easy! I was forcing it before."

"Can you adjust it quickly?" Kate asked. "Try removing your shield from everyone except Carmen.

She looked at Edward, who nodded. "It changed instantly. I can't hear Carmen's thoughts."

Bella laughed as we shouted out tasks to her, and she was able to fulfill them instantly. We took her through her paces for another twenty minutes before letting her rest. She appeared to have mastered that gift, at least.

"What I want to see," Emmett said, "is how Edward does in a wrestling match when he can't hear his opponent's thoughts. Maybe we should ask Bella to give that a try some time." He gave Edward a shove.

"Emmett, be careful!" Edward snapped. "Don't do that when I'm holding the baby!"

Emmett backed away, taunting, "He can't stop me. Can he, EJ?" Rosalie ran up to take EJ in her arms, and Edward took off like a bullet after Emmett.

EJ pressed her hand against Rosalie's face. "It's all right, darling. They're just playing."

Bella was watching them with a frown. She'd never seen those two 'play' before, since they'd refrained from having mock battles in her presence when she was human, but it was a longstanding custom. I was about to tell her so, when Emmett landed a punch that made Edward grunt with momentary pain. Before any of us could think or act, Bella had dashed off after them, running directly into Emmett like a wrecking ball, driving him several yards across the turf.

"Bella!" Edward called to her, "it's okay. Stop!" He seemed more amused than alarmed.

"Don't worry, little brother," Emmett said.

"He's not the one who should be worried," Bella said grimly. We all hooted appreciatively. Bella in vengeful attack mode was quite a novelty.

Emmett evaded her as she approached. "Come on, Bella! We were just fooling around!"

"You _hurt_ him!" She lunged at Emmett.

Emmett dodged her, laughing, perfectly happy to accept a substitute opponent. "He's fine! Just look at him. No harm done." Emmett feinted to his right, then quickly doubled back to the left. Bella was there ahead of him, grabbing his arm and flipping him face down onto the ground in standard police restraint form. Maybe she'd picked up a thing or two from her dad.

"Edward!" Emmett struggled ineffectually. "Will you tell her it was no big deal?" He tried again to get up, but Bella held him fast. "Edward, I don't want to have to get rough with her!"

We all howled with laughter at that. "No, you go right ahead, Emmett," Edward said, grinning. "Get as rough as you like."

Emmett swore, struggling again, before finally giving up and lying still. "Edward, I'll get you back for this!" he yelled.

That seemed to send Bella over the edge; she scooped up Emmett like a bale of cotton, hoisted him over her head, and threw him. He landed in a ditch on the edge of the property, cursing freely both in transit and after the landing, and leaving a huge rut in the mud.

She turned to face us, and a few of us, the immature ones I suppose, gave her a round of applause. She seemed to recollect herself at that point, became visibly embarrassed - her old self would be red in the face - and muttered, "Um, sorry."

That led us into an impromptu scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "Oh, sorry! Sorry, everyone!" Jasper called out.

"You stabbed the best man!" I accused him.

"Terribly sorry!"

"Did you kill all those guards?"

"Um, yes. Sorry!"

It was paraphrased, of course. We're not Python purists.

Emmett rejoined us in two leaps, glaring and covered in dirt and farm runoff. "Enjoy your flight?" Jasper asked him.

"Just a harmless little bunny, is it?" Kate quoted, still channeling Python.

Emmett, competitive but not inclined to hold grudges, joined in the laughter. "Little sister's a lot tougher than she looks!"

"I'm sorry, Emmett! I got upset when you…"

"When I landed one on darling Edward? I should've figured." He threw an arm around Bella's shoulders. "It's about time you acted like a newborn. You've been way too well behaved!"

EJ reached up to touch Rosalie again. "Yes, honey; they were just playing."

"Ha!" Emmett looked down at Bella. "Care to go for best two out of three?"

"Not today, Emmett, thanks." She still looked a little ashamed of her outburst.

We headed back inside. Emmett went to the garden to let Rosalie hose him off before he came indoors to change, and the rest of us reconvened in the living room, still chuckling over Angry Bella. Bella herself sat down with EJ in her lap, looking thoughtful. A minute later, out of the blue, she turned to me and asked, "Alice, how much do you weigh?"

"About one fifty. Why?"

"That's too much. I mean…" She gestured to my admittedly petite frame. Carlisle tuned into our conversation, seeing the potential. "And EJ weighs more than she ought to. But at the same time, it's not nearly enough."

"Aha," Jasper said. "She's noticed."

"Would you care to expand on that, Bella?" Carlisle asked. He was such a schoolteacher sometimes.

"I just mean, someone Alice's size - a human, at least - shouldn't weigh more than a hundred pounds, tops, right?" Carlisle nodded encouragingly. "But unless I'm mistaken, she could pick up Emmett and throw him if she wanted to."

"Not likely," Emmett said, returning to the room in clean clothes.

Bella brushed aside his remark, intent on her question. "No, but what I mean is, Alice could pick up something very large and heavy. She could uproot a tree with her bare hands. A house could fall on her without hurting her. Right?" She looked at me, and I nodded. "That kind of strength should require a lot of…I don't know the right terminology - mass, or density. She should weigh hundreds of pounds. It doesn't work."

"No, you're quite right," Carlisle agreed. "Even without the vocabulary, you hit on an inconsistency in our physical nature."

"So how _does_ it work?" Bella asked.

"We don't, in fact, know," Carlisle admitted. "Vampire nature has not been studied the way human nature has. Something in the way our bodies are constructed falls outside known science."

Bella got that funny look on her face again, and I caught Carlisle's eye. He watched her carefully. "It's the same with the werewolves," she said.

"Excuse me?" Carlisle leaned forward.

"Logically, a human can't become a giant wolf. There isn't enough…enough matter to go around. The wolves shouldn't be as strong as they are. They couldn't be dense enough."

"They seemed plenty dense to me," Rosalie muttered.

Bella smiled briefly at her. "Not substantial enough. You know what I mean."

"What do you conclude?" Carlisle asked her.

"They call themselves spirit warriors. They're made up of something non physical, something stronger than they could be just as literal oversized wolves. We must be the same way."

There was a short silence. "That's not actually an answer, you know," Irina said. "It just extends the mystery out past the physical world, beyond where we can perceive it."

"It does suggest a very logical possibility," Carlisle said thoughtfully, "that our nature seems to defy the laws of physics because it operates outside the realm of physics; and that our old allies, the werewolves, do so as well."

"So…in this rationalistic day and age," Jasper said, "and notwithstanding your efforts and the Volturi's efforts to define our nature scientifically, we may be what humans have believed since the Dark Ages: something supernatural?"

Carlisle grinned. "It is at least a possibility. Of course, we may merely be dealing with aspects of nature which are still undiscovered."

"I think that last theory is the most likely," Edward said. "It makes the existence of someone like Elizabeth more probable."

EJ had a few questions of her own at that point, and the conversation drifted.

When a few family members left for their evening classes, Tanya said she felt like a girls' day out. "Out where?" I asked. "Shopping?"

"Maybe, if all the ladies want to go." Rose and Irina expressed an interest. Tanya looked at Bella. "What about you, warrior princess?"

"Me? I can't go out in public yet."

"Can't you just put in those contact lenses you used in Italy?"

"I still can't be seen, especially around here. People might recognize me from reports on the fire."

"It seems unlikely. You look rather different now."

"I don't want to take chances."

"We're talking about making another move, maybe next year," Carlisle said. "Probably outside the continental U.S. It's unlikely Bella would be recognized then."

"You're _very_ cautious," Tanya said. "Well, what about a short hunting trip? Just the girls this time. What do you say?"

Rosalie, Kate, Irina and I agreed to go. Bella hesitated, looking at EJ. "She'll be fine with us for a couple of hours, Bella," Esme told her. "You go ahead."

Edward was watching Tanya with a wary expression, but he made no objection; just took EJ from Bella's lap and said, "Have a good time, love. I'll see you soon."

Bella smiled at him and squeezed his hand, kissed her daughter, and darted out the back door after Tanya. I hugged Jazz and followed them. We avoided anywhere occupied by humans, running into the national forest until we'd passed out of the areas containing campgrounds. There was nothing much available on such a short, daytime run except deer, but we brought down one apiece. We tidied up, then settled down on a clifftop to chat.

"Where are you thinking of moving to?" Kate asked.

"We don't know yet," Rose said. "We'll probably meet and formally decide before long. I know Jasper's been looking into New Zealand. There are some places there almost as cloudy as Forks. Or we could just do a world tour until we settle on a place."

"If you relocate, we'd like to stay within reach," Kate said.

I smiled at her. "I hope you do."

"I'm sure they have good colleges in New Zealand," Rosalie said, "with a fine assortment of fraternity members."

"How are those Dartmouth boys doing, speaking of which?" I asked.

"They're doing just fine," Kate smirked.

"Kate mostly looks for men off campus," Irina said. "It lowers the chances of running into someone post-fling. Not being a student myself, I don't have to take such precautions, so I get the whole male student body to myself."

"Not all of them, right?" Bella asked uncertainly. "I mean, don't any guys ever turn you down?"

Tanya laughed. "Not really."

"Not like they have much of a choice," Rosalie commented.

Bella frowned to herself. "What, Bella?" Tanya asked her. "You have another improper question?"

"Kind of." Tanya gestured 'bring it on'. "I was just wondering - _do_ they have a choice? Alice said…" She looked at me uncertainly.

"Oho! Has Alice been gossiping about us?" Irina laughed.

"Nothing you wouldn't say about yourself," I told her.

Bella shrugged. "Well, she said some of the old stories about a succubus might have been based on the three of you."

"Either based on us, or given more credence because of us," Kate agreed. "But what about it? You asked if the men have a choice? Of course they do."

"I thought maybe you had some kind of gift. You know, like Jasper's control of emotions, only more…specific."

The three of them laughed. Tanya said, "That's how the old stories went. Men were ravished in the night by a woman with supernatural powers, who robbed them of their will and made them her love slave. Mind control provided a rationalization, especially for men who felt guilty afterward. We don't have any gifts or abnormal powers."

"Then why do men never refuse you? Some of the men must be married, or have girlfriends they're faithful to."

"First of all," Irina said firmly, "we try to avoid attached men. We're not serial homewreckers. If a married man goes with one of us, it's because he was on the prowl already. There are plenty of single men to choose from, and we do."

"And in the second place," Kate went on, "we may not be gifted, but we do have very particular advantages. We, all of us, look beautiful to humans; our voices are appealing to them; our scent, even, entices them." Bella dropped her eyes, maybe remembering her own human reactions to Edward. "Add to that the fact that we have centuries of practical experience, and you end up with an extremely high success rate."

"But…" Bella hesitated.

"Oh, I know what the new sister wants to ask," Tanya said, grinning. "If Alice told her about us, she probably mentioned something about Edward and me."

"No," Bella said stiffly. "Edward told me himself."

"I'm surprised he brought the matter up."

"He didn't, exactly," she admitted. "Rosalie made a passing reference, and I asked Edward about it."

"What did Edward tell you about it?" She laughed at Bella's suspicious look. "I'm not asking so I can find out how much I can hide, Bella. I'll tell you the truth, I promise. I just want to know where he left off." Bella glanced around at us. "The family all know about it," Tanya told her. "You can say what you like in front of them."

"Okay, well, he just said you'd expressed some, er, casual interest in him. He told you he didn't return your interest. And that was it."

Irina and Kate laughed. "That sounds like what I'd expect," I said. "Edward's always the perfect gentleman."

"So you're saying that's not the truth?" Bella asked.

"No, that is the truth, pared down to its basic elements, I suppose," Tanya said. "He was kind enough to leave out how irritated I was when he turned me down. I was very rude to him, I'm afraid."

"But why?" Bella asked. "If it was a casual thing, and you accept that a man can refuse you if he wants to…?"

"But no one actually has refused me for a very long time," Tanya explained. "Especially someone with so little reason to. He was unattached, and lived with three pairs of bonded mates. It seemed almost like an act of charity." She caught Bella's expression, and laughed. "All right, that may be overstating it. But making him an offer seemed like the reasonable thing to do. I didn't expect him to turn me down. It hurt my pride, and I suppose I made myself unpleasant for a while."

"Just imagine," Irina said slyly. "Only one failure after thousands of successes!"

"Yes, I can understand why you made such a pest of yourself," Kate agreed.

"I did do that, didn't I? I apologized to Edward for making him uncomfortable, the last time he came up north to see us."

Bella nodded. "But you aren't still angry with him? Or maybe annoyed with me, a little?"

"No, no! Why would I be annoyed with you?" She frowned at Bella. "Do you imagine I'm jealous of you?"

"I don't know," Bella admitted. "I'm not sure what to think. I find it kind of hard to put myself in your place."

"_Sestrenka_, I was not trying to make Edward my husband. He wouldn't suit me. Too serious, too idealistic, too authoritarian. He could do very well as a friend, as a cousin, or even as an occasional diversion," she winked at Bella, who gave her a half smile, "but not as a mate. Not for me."

"To be honest," Kate said, "we all flirted with him a little when he arrived. Meeting a new, unattached male is always an event. He was always polite but completely uninterested. And frankly, we were a little put off by the mind reading. Irina and I retired the field and left him to Tanya."

"…who had no more luck than the other two," I concluded.

"No luck at all. Beautiful but so cold, cold as ice!" Tanya said, mock-lamenting. "Nobody could attract him, until Bella. You managed what three practiced succubi failed to do. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Bella glanced at me, and I gave her a reassuring grin. Tanya's sarcasm wasn't directed at Bella, just at the oddity of the situation.

"Apparently he was waiting for something very particular," Irina said, smiling at Bella.

"He was waiting for me," Bella answered.

Irina looked surprised at the confidence of the statement. "Is that some of Edward's romantic hyperbole, or do you mean something more?"

"It was…well, it was something I realized when I was still human. Remembering it is what convinced me that Eleazar was right, that I did sometimes see things, you know, the way he described."

"What did you see?" I asked. This was something I must have missed.

She hunched her shoulders, obviously embarrassed. "See, Edward was always having women flirt with him. Humans, I mean. It bothered me, and it bothered me a little bit when I heard about Tanya, too. Then one day, I had this kind of epiphany, and I didn't worry about it any more. I saw, clear as day, that Edward could never want anyone but me. It wasn't because I was better looking, or smarter, or good at…whatever." She ducked her head, and Tanya grinned at the obvious implication. "It was just because it was _me_. If I hadn't come along, he would have been alone forever. I don't know why. Maybe because he can't read my thoughts. Maybe because I look like some girl he liked when he was human. But it's definitely true."

"Interesting," Irina said. "And, of course, it must take the sting out of Tanya's rejection."

Tanya laughed. "Yes, it does! Nobody could be expected to succeed when pitted against immutable fate."

"You can remove that loss from your record," I said. "Or at least put an asterisk beside it."

The sisters chuckled. "Can I ask you something about your, er, lifestyle?" Bella asked. "Something a little bit…?"

"Oh, another _out of line_ question? Go on, horrify us," Kate laughed.

"It's just that, like I said, I have a hard time understanding. It's so different from…what I'm used to."

"Out with it, Bella," Tanya urged. "I just admitted to trying to seduce your husband. Clearly, we have a no-offence, tell-all policy in place."

"I see what you mean. Okay, well, don't you all ever get lonely? Don't you sometimes wish you had one guy all your own? You know, like Carmen and Eleazar."

The sisters looked at each other. "A timely question," Irina said. "The three of us have been tossing this very issue around for the last little while. Since 1980 or so."

Kate nodded. "We always liked our way of life; but meeting Carmen and Eleazar, and then the happy couples in your own family, made us wonder if we were missing something."

"Speak for yourself, sister," Tanya said. "Personally, I think the benefits of being single and independent outweigh the joys of having one's own mate. I'm sure you three, and Esme, are very happy with your partners, but with our kind, we give up part of ourselves when we bond with a mate. We no longer belong only to ourselves; we belong to our spouse. For all you may gain in return, it is still a loss of sorts."

"To really understand," Kate went on, "I think you would need to know the time we came from. So much of marriage, and of course sex, was about power; and the power always, somehow or other, ended up in the hands of men, to be used against women. It could be used as a weapon against us, but we could never take up that weapon ourselves."

Bella's eyebrows went up. "That seems a little bit extreme."

"Spoken like a woman of the modern day," Rosalie said. "You don't realize how much has changed, even from my time to yours."

"Let alone compared to our time," Irina said. "Katrina is right. If a woman remained single, she was pitiable, a reject; if she married, she became her husband's chattel. As for sex, it belonged to men. It was a duty women owed their husbands, but which they could not choose to enjoy on their own terms."

"Not that we consciously resented it," Kate said. "It was just the way life was."

"Imagine, then," Tanya said dreamily, "being transformed and finding that we were invulnerable, and our bodies were now entirely our own, to be used and enjoyed as we pleased. Sex belonged to us now, and we did the choosing. The human men who had once seemed to control the entire world were now no threat to us. They were our playthings, if we liked. It was liberating, exhilarating."

Irina added, "At first, it was just a preliminary to drinking, as I suppose you've been told." Bella nodded. "Eventually, we came to appreciate the encounters for their own sake; and that eventually led us to our present mode of hunting. See, it was never about revenge. We didn't hate men; and as the years passed, and the rules of society changed, we realized that they were as much a product of their time as we were."

Bella was nodding. "I can see what you mean. I know I haven't experienced it, but I think I understand your point of view, at least a little." She thought a moment. "So…do you partly prefer human men because they're not your equals; you can control them?"

"I sense a little criticism," Kate said drily, "but I suppose you're right. Human men are easier to deal with."

"It means there is no real relationship," Irina added. "There can't be, really."

"No," Kate agreed. "Unless, of course, one of us falls in love with a human beau. Then it gets very complicated. We've managed to avoid it so far."

"Knock wood," Tanya added, rapping her knuckles against a tree trunk.

"But you said you're thinking about the possibility," I said.

"That's true," said Kate. "We may have all the gender politics out of our system by this time. If the opportunity presented itself, who knows?"

"Not that I'm counting on it," Irina said. "I thought something might develop with Laurent. Maybe it could have, if I'd been more open to a real partner. Even though I would be my mate's equal, it would require a kind of surrender to accept him in my life. It's hard to make such a drastic change, after so long."

The three became quiet, thinking their own thoughts. I watched the clouds and tracked the family's future, as I did several times a day. As I watched Jasper's path, I suddenly sat up straight. "It looks like our company's arriving shortly."

"Who's coming?" Tanya asked.

"Jasper's old companions, Peter and Charlotte." I took a closer look, and frowned, worried. "We may have to make some preparations."


	11. Road Trip

"It's EJ," I explained. "She's the hub of the whole problem. The future starts to change when they see EJ."

We were gathered around the old dining table, our traditional place for discussing major decisions and serious problems. As soon as I'd told Carlisle what I'd seen, he convened the meeting. Tanya's family, as usual, listened but stayed out of the actual discussion.

"Alice, can you explain again exactly what you see happening?" Carlisle asked. "In as much detail as possible, please."

"I know I haven't been very clear," I said, "but I don't have a lot of specifics yet, and of course I don't know _why_ any of this happens. All I know is, Peter and Charlotte come to visit, they meet Bella, and everything's fine. Then they meet EJ, and the future changes. I see the Volturi coming for us, and things ending badly."

"Badly, how?" Jasper asked.

"There are different scenarios. None of them good. Some of us dead, all of us dead, some taken into the Guard, depending on the exact direction events take. It doesn't help that there are blank spots where EJ is involved in the situation."

"If EJ is blank, how do you see Peter and Charlotte meeting her?" Emmett asked.

"I don't, actually. I hear other people inviting Peter and Charlotte to meet the new family members, and introducing them to Bella. I assume the next step would be to introduce EJ, although I don't see that part." I shook my head. These blank spots bugged the hell out of me.

"How do they find us?" Edward asked.

"Peter happens to pick up Jasper's scent in the woods near here, and they follow it back to the house."

Carlisle shook his head. "Jasper? Is there any reason you can think of that your friends would involve the Volturi? Would they resent our having more new family members?"

"I can't imagine so. Maybe they say something about two new gifted members, and word gets back to Aro."

"That could be."

"He might want EJ?" Bella asked, aghast. "But…"

"We won't let that happen, love," Edward assured her, but he looked concerned as well.

Carlisle started to speak, then stopped, looking at Bella. She still seemed stressed, but now she was staring blankly at a corner of the room. I recalled her saying her second gift emerged under stress. "Bella? If you have any insight into this situation, please speak up."

"It's not because she's gifted," Bella said immediately. "They'll report us for breaking the law."

"What law?" Emmett asked.

Bella looked back at EJ, who was sitting beside Carmen and hearing a story. "Peter and Charlotte have never seen anyone like EJ before. When they see her, they assume the worst. See, what would she look like to you, if you didn't know she was Edward's and mine?"

"What would she look like?" Rosalie repeated. "Bella, quit talking in riddles."

"Don't you see? She looks like a little, tiny kid vampire!"

Carlisle gasped. "An Immortal Child!"

"Exactly," Bella said. "Something nobody would stand for, not even friends. They'd report the infraction, and the Volturi would come for us."

"But she's clearly not an Immortal Child," Rosalie protested. "She grows; her heart beats."

Bella shook her head. "If they saw her from a distance, they might not take the time to investigate. They'd be horrified, maybe run off without speaking to us."

We looked at each other. "That has to be it," Edward said. "It makes perfect sense."

"Yes, it does. Thank you, Bella." Carlisle glanced around the table. "I assume, then, that we can prevent this disaster."

Emmett said, "If we keep EJ out of sight at first, until we can give the whole story to Charlotte and Peter, it should be all right."

"Agreed," Jasper said. "I'll go out to meet them when they arrive, and explain. We'll make sure they don't see EJ until then."

My vision immediately flipped into an altered version.

Carlisle looked at me. "Alice?"

I nodded, smiling. "That's changed everything completely. No further problems." I paused, scanning an extremely vague, blurry future scenario. "By the way, I hate to sound like a carnival fortune teller, but I see a long journey in our future."

"Nothing more specific than that?" Rosalie asked.

"Not so far. I'll update as new bulletins arrive."

"Well, this has been easily dealt with," Carlisle said. "Alice, when will Peter and Charlotte arrive?"

"Forty-six hours from now. They're stopping to hunt before they get into the vicinity."

"Good. We'll keep Elizabeth out of their sight until we're certain they understand the situation." The meeting ended.

"I wish all our problems were that easy to solve," Emmett observed.

The forty-six hour point fell in the early evening, just after sunset. I suggested changing EJ's clothes.

"Why?"Bella asked.

"Company is coming, people seeing her for the first time. How about one of the little dresses I bought?"

"If you want," Bella said indifferently. "Would you like to wear a pretty dress, EJ?" The little one nodded. She was more reasonable about these things than some people.

I took her hand and led her upstairs, taking off her little jeans and sweater and replacing them with a pale pink cotton dress with puffed sleeves and smocking across the bodice, white ankle socks and black mary janes. Human women would spontaneously ovulate at the sight of her. "There, kiddo," I said, doing up her buttons. "You look like the fairest flower in the garden." She giggled, which was always a welcome event.

She reached up to touch my face. I saw the question in her mind: unknown people arriving, curiosity about who they were. "They're old friends of Jasper's," I told her, leading her back down the stairs. She showed me herself, hiding in a second floor bedroom, puzzlement about why she was being hidden.

Edward answered. "Because they've never seen anyone like you before, sweetheart. We don't want them to be…surprised." I smirked at the technically accurate reply. "Uncle Jasper's going to explain about you first, then you can come and meet them." EJ seemed to accept that.

Bella became nervous as the time approached. "Are you sure they'll be all right, Alice?"

"It looks 100% clear right now," I answered.

"Okay," she said. "Jasper, please be sure they _completely_ understand before they see EJ."

"I will, Bella. Don't be concerned. They certainly can't do her any harm with all of us here."

She nodded. "ETA is four minutes," I said. Bella took EJ by the hand and led her upstairs, while Jasper went outside to intercept his friends.

They took a good long time. After fifteen minutes, we all started peeking through the front windows. "Is he still talking to them?" Bella asked from upstairs.

"Yes," Edward said. "He's going into considerable detail, to make sure there is no confusion." He paused. "We should go out to meet them."

We waited until the conversation had finished, then Carlisle led us all out to the yard, where we saw Jasper approaching us, Charlotte and Peter following behind him. We stopped when we were still some distance away. Peter and Charlotte were friendly, but they were still nomads, and it was best to avoid anything that could possibly be interpreted as aggression. Carlisle raised his hand in greeting. "Charlotte, Peter; it's good to see you again."

"Good to see you, too," Peter answered. "Hello, Alice." I smiled at him.

"Would you like to come inside?" Esme asked. They seemed just a little uneasy - not used to being indoors - but followed us willingly enough. I scanned ahead again: still smooth sailing. Edward silently noted my conclusion.

We all chatted a while, asking Peter and Charlotte where they'd been since last we'd seen them, and whether they had any news. "Two months ago, we ran into someone who said he was a friend of yours, Carlisle," Charlotte said. "His name is Garrett."

Carlisle smiled. "Yes, I know Garrett. I haven't seen him in years. Where was he when you met with him?"

"Virginia. He'd just left Washington, D.C.. He said he might as well feed where he could do the most good." Charlotte giggled. "He seems to have very strong political views."

Carlisle laughed. "Yes, he always has. If you see him again, please give him my regards."

"We might very well see him again," Peter said. "We spent a few days together, and after we parted company, Charlotte said it was a shame he was travelling alone, when he seemed like such an outgoing person. We got along very well with him. We thought we might invite him to join us."

"You're right; he's very sociable. He might enjoy being part of a coven, after all those years of being on his own."

Peter nodded. "But we're ignoring the more significant piece of news. Jasper tells me - well, first that you have a new member, a mate for Edward?"

"Yes. In fact, they have known each other since just before your last visit, but she was only changed less than three months ago."

Peter and Charlotte exchanged a look. "Yes, Jasper explained it all. They were married while she was still human," Peter said. "That's unusual in itself, but the rest of the story…"

"It is a unique situation, but what Jasper told you was perfectly true."

"They really had a child together?" Charlotte said. "Half human?"

"Yes. You can hear her heartbeat from here."

They looked up at the ceiling. EJ's little heart could be heard clearly. "And the scent!" Charlotte exclaimed. "It's…" She gestured with her hands, as though weighing two equal objects.

"Just what you would expect," Peter concluded, "from someone who is half vampire, half human."

Edward had been watching them carefully, but now seemed to conclude they were no threat. "Would you like to meet both new family members?" At their cautious nod, he called softly, "Bella? Would you bring Elizabeth down, please?"

Bella appeared, carrying EJ in her arms. The child was perfectly capable of walking, but Bella still seemed a little protective. She came to Edward, who took his daughter in his arms. "Charlotte, Peter, I'd like you to meet my wife, Bella." Bella smiled shyly at them, and Charlotte shook her hand. "And this is our daughter, Elizabeth."

EJ, of course, was the star attraction. At first, Peter and Charlotte could do very little but stare at her. "It's a good thing you explained things in advance, Jasper," Peter remarked. "We might have jumped to conclusions."

"That's just what we were trying to avoid," Jazz said. "But you can see, now, that she's nothing like an Immortal Child."

"Oh, yes. It's very clear. But what an amazing thing!" Peter moved a little closer to EJ, studying her, and EJ extended her hand. Edward held her back gently.

Charlotte noticed. "Should we not touch her for some reason?"

"It's not that. I don't know if Jasper told you about her unusual talent."

"Talent?"

"The child is gifted," Jasper explained. "She inherited her father's mind reading, only in reverse, you might say."

"In reverse?"

"She doesn't receive messages; she sends," I explained.

"How does that work?" Peter asked.

Edward smiled at his daughter. "Elizabeth, would you like to tell your new friends about yourself?"

EJ smiled and reached both hands out to the couple. "She has to touch you for it to work," Bella said. They leaned forward cautiously, and EJ placed a hand on each of their faces.

Charlotte gasped in surprise; Peter jumped back, almost striking the far wall. "What was that?" he demanded.

"Oh!" Charlotte was still taking in EJ's messages, wide eyed. "Peter, it's all right. The child is just showing us her memories. Come back."

Peter warily returned and let EJ touch him again, jerking in reaction when the images began flooding through his head. "What is she showing us?"

"How she was born, and the important events in her life until now," Edward said. Peter finally relaxed and stood still, looking shocked and fascinated, until EJ let her hands fall away and looked at them.

"That was an amazing story, little Elizabeth," Charlotte told her.

"Almost as amazing as the way it was told," Peter said.

We spent some time exchanging news and hearing about things Peter and Charlotte had encountered in their travels, but the subject often came back to EJ. Charlotte was captivated by her, and Peter found her existence intriguing and full of unanswered questions. Once EJ had fallen asleep, this time in Rosalie's arms, he felt free to interrogate us. "Is she venomous?" he asked. "Or do you know yet?"

"She is not," Edward said, choosing not to explain how that fact was discovered.

"What about her teeth? Was she born with full sized teeth, or…?"

"A good question," Carlisle said. "She had a full set of teeth at birth, but they were small, like a young child's milk teeth. However, these do not seem to be temporary. They are growing as she grows. Her teeth always seem just a little too large for her, but I assume that will adjust eventually."

"And how long will she grow? What happens when she reaches adult size?"

Edward sighed. "Unfortunately, we have more questions than answers. Her physical growth is gradually slowing down. If it continues in the same pattern, she should be fully grown in a very short time, six or seven years. What happens from there is a mystery."

"We've been trying to track down information on similar cases," Jasper said, "but most of them fall into the category of mythology. I don't suppose either of you have encountered any such stories in your travels?"

Our guests looked at each other. "Actually, we have," Peter said. "I didn't take it seriously at the time, but Garrett told us he had traveled through parts of South America, and heard tales of vampire hybrids - half human, like your girl here."

"What!" Bella stared at him. "What did the stories say?"

"There was not a great deal of detail. Stories from Brazil told of human women who mated with vampire males and conceived children. The women always died before or during the birth, but the children, supposedly, were able to survive. Some tales describe the half humans living in the forest in packs; others say they live in the cities, pretending to be ordinary humans. Some claim they drink human blood; others that they kill and eat wild animals. Garrett told us this as an odd bit of local folklore, not as anything with a basis in reality."

"Are these old legends?" Carlisle asked.

"That's the odd thing. They apparently started circulating relatively recently."

"Did Garrett mention where he'd heard of them?" Jasper asked.

Peter named a region in western Brazil. "I'm afraid that's all the information I have."

Carlisle nodded. "Thank you; that's been extremely helpful."

Peter and Charlotte went outside with Jasper before departing, for a walk and a private goodbye. When Jasper returned to the house, Carlisle asked us to gather for a short meeting.

"What about?" Emmett asked, taking his place.

"I think Alice may have been right earlier," Carlisle said, "when she predicted a long journey."

We didn't leave right away. This particular trip took a little more planning and preparation than most of our past excursions. Besides, Bella wanted EJ to be a little older before we took her away from home. Those of us attending college finished the semester, everyone passing with flying colours, of course, including Kate.

The group project of EJ's education continued as before. We kept monitoring her physical condition, measuring her twice a day. Her growth continued to gradually slow down, following the same arc that Carlisle had predicted months earlier.

We stayed in New Hampshire for Christmas, and went to more trouble than usual for EJ's sake. She helped decorate the twelve foot spruce Emmett had obtained from a corner of the property, and we all loved watching her leap up to place ornaments on the topmost branches. The family had given up regular Christmas presents some time ago, but of course that doesn't apply to children. Christmas morning she arrived at the house to find gifts from one and all. It was the best holiday our family had ever had, I think, and Carlisle spoke for all of us when he mentioned how grateful he was for the good things that had come to the family, and how much the troubles that brought them about had been worth it. That was the closest anyone ever came to mentioning the fact that EJ's arrival had caused a great deal of anguish for those closest to her. Bella insisted that her daughter never know.

Before the new year, Jasper had delved deep into the virtual DNA of various government agencies, and produced a complete and flawless set of ID papers for each of us, including EJ, whose new fake birth certificate made her seven. It was about the oldest she could pass for, and so would be applicable longer. We all continued to search for references to half vampires, but were turning up no new material. We were ready to go to the source.

Carlisle, instead of taking a leave of absence from the hospital, simply resigned. None of us were sure when we'd be back, if ever. We went through the familiar ritual of closing down the house, and put the building in J. Jenks' hands, to put on the market if and when he received word. Edward did the same with his little house in Hanover.

Initially, we'd discussed the idea of dispensing with airlines altogether and simply running all the way to Brazil. There was a lot to be said for the idea: no messing around with airport security, no risk of Bella being identified, no repeatedly refusing food and drink until the flight attendants got suspicious. Also, running was more fun. On the con side was the fact that EJ would have to be carried much of the way; and that she needed to sleep every night. She could sleep in someone's arms as we travelled, of course, but Edward thought that was roughing it a bit too much. In the end, we decided to fly for most of the journey.

Before buying our tickets, I scanned each of the possible flights, direct and with stopovers. On one of them, a flight attendant recognized Bella and mentioned the fact to friends, who passed the word along. It didn't result in serious trouble, since nobody believed her, but it got back to Charlie in the form of an urban legend and would probably cause him some grief. We went with a different flight, one which I saw going without a hitch.

Kate, always ready for an adventure, chose to go with us; then Tanya said she'd tag along as well; and in the end, both families made the trip. I double checked to make sure a group of fourteen wouldn't cause any alarm bells to go off with the airlines, but it was fine. Fourteen obviously wealthy people taking a vacation together seemed unremarkable to them. So did everyone bringing only carry-on luggage in the form of backpacks. Mine was a Louis Vuitton, and EJ carried a teeny, tiny little red one that looked like an old fashioned book satchel.

Our first stop was Richmond, Virginia. We arrived after dark, as planned, and proceeded to rent two minivans - which made Edward cringe, but they were practical - and book hotel rooms on the outskirts of town. After checking in, Carlisle promptly left to search the immediate area for Garrett's scent. As the only one who had actually met Garrett, only he could recognize the scent.

"Technically," Emmett pointed out, "Edward would be able to recognize the scent from reading it in Carlisle's mind, right?"

"Yes, that's true," Edward admitted. "Would you like me to come along?"

"No, that's all right," Carlisle said, glancing sternly at Emmett. "You stay with your family. If I don't find him tonight, we can split up and look further afield tomorrow."

Emmett, true to his promise, said nothing, but clearly Carlisle was allowing Edward and Bella some time alone. We were all a little amused at how shy Bella and strait-laced Edward had turned into amorous little rabbits since Bella's change, and it would be cruel to deny them a night to themselves, especially when travelling might make those a rarity.

Well into the night, Carlisle returned, tapped softly on each of our doors and said, "Can we check out at ten and meet downstairs, please?"

"Considerate of him to give us so much advance notice," I whispered to Jasper.

"It was," he agreed, his arms tightening his arms around me, "but delaying also gives him some time with Esme before we leave."

We gathered by the minivans, where Jasper eyed the drifting clouds. "Overcast until mid afternoon," I assured him. "But we'll have to get out of sight the rest of the day."

"I picked up Garrett's scent," Carlisle told us, "and followed it as far as Roanoke before turning back. It was a very clear trail, so I thought we may as well continue together. Finding him may be easier than I'd anticipated."

We dropped off the vans and discreetly slipped away from the rental place, in twos and threes, and into a sparsely wooded area near the airport. Carlisle and Edward worked on finding the trail. "Carlisle, think about Garrett's scent," Edward asked. He frowned, taking in Carlisle's thoughts.

"Is it unclear?" Carlisle asked.

"It's very clear; but scent is harder to translate. It's not the same as actually smelling something, but if I were to encounter it…" He looked around. "Where did you last cross Garrett's trail?"

Carlisle indicated a point in the far distance. "A golf course east of Roanoke; but it was not that recent." ''

"Let's start from there."

Avoiding inhabited areas, we ran easily toward the west until Edward suddenly stopped short. "That's it!"

"Yes," Carlisle agreed. "Why don't we split up. The first group to encounter him should contact the other."

Jasper and I followed Carlisle and his group; Bella, with EJ on her back, went with Edward. Jasper managed to isolate Garrett's scent, and was able to help with the search. After about twenty minutes, Carlisle's cell chimed, and he flipped it open. "Edward?"

"He's been here recently," I heard Edward's voice say. "Probably in the past hour or two. I think he's heading back to D.C."

"We'll follow your trail," Carlisle said. "Stay where you are." There was a pause. "Edward?"

"He's here," Edward said quietly. "He's aware of us. He's planning to approach."

Carlisle started walking quickly, still holding the cell phone to his ear. "Do you perceive any threat?" He swore softly as the line went dead. He gestured to us to begin running. "Alice?"

I was already on it. "I don't see any impending hostilities," I told him, "but what are they going to do about the baby? If Garrett sees her…"

"I assume Edward would have taken that into account," he said. We all stepped up our pace.

We found them near a reservoir in the middle of a forest preserve, and good place to be now that the sun was out. Edward, Eleazar, Carmen, Rosalie and Emmett were standing together, facing a tall, sandy haired vampire in the unmistakably tatty clothes of a nomad. They seemed to be conversing pleasantly enough, although the stranger stood with his arms crossed, a wary look on his face. And where were Bella and EJ?

The stranger turned as we approached, and seemed to relax. "Carlisle!" he said. "So it's true after all." He moved forward to meet Carlisle, clasping his hand warmly. "You're a welcome sight, after all these years."

"It's good to see you, Garrett." Carlisle smiled. "I hope all is well with you."

"As well as can be expected."

"What was true after all?" Carlisle asked.

"This gentleman," he waved a hand at Edward, "introduced himself and his camp followers as friends of yours. He said you were nearby, looking for me. I have to admit, it sounded suspicious. Why would you be traipsing around the countryside with an entourage? But it seems your life has gone through some changes."

Carlisle chuckled. "You could say that. Let me introduce them to you. You've already met Edward." Carlisle's eyes met Edward's for a second, communicating something, and Edward smiled slightly and gave a nod in a northerly direction. _Is Bella okay?_ I thought to him, and he gave me another nod. "This is my wife, Esme."

Garrett looked both surprised and pleased, and took Esme's hand. "Enchanted to meet you, Esme." He turned back to Carlisle. "A momentous change, indeed! How long were you a bachelor, Carlisle?"

"Too long," Carlisle said drily. He went on to introduce the remainder of his family, and then of Tanya's family, explaining their relationship to each other.

"And all of them keeping this experimental diet you spoke of?" Garrett asked, examining our eyes.

"Yes, all of them."

Garrett shook his head. "I would not have expected you'd find one more person to share your undertaking, much less two large covens. It was too much for me to contemplate, I confess."

Kate grinned at him. "Not up for the challenge?"

Garrett raised an eyebrow, looking back at Kate. "I am _always_ up for a challenge," he said, "but this seems beyond the pale. I can't help but think it would eventually erode one's health in some way. You've been practicing this, er, regimen for some time, I take it?"

"Yes, for over two centuries, along with my sisters. And Carmen and Eleazar joined us about eighty years ago." She grinned impishly at Garrett. "We don't look unwell, do we?"

"By no means," Garrett said, smiling back. "You seem the very picture of blooming health." Tanya and Irina rolled their eyes at each other, but didn't interrupt.

"And so I've remained, all the time I've hunted nothing but animals."

"Interesting." His eyes lingered on Kate a moment, before turning back to Carlisle. "We should discuss this further. But I understand you were seeking me out. Was there a particular reason?"

"Yes, in fact there is. We are looking for information on an obscure topic, and we were given to understand you might be able to help us."

"What kind of information?" We all became very still, knowing the subject had to be broached carefully, and Garrett noticed our tension.

"A pair of nomads who encountered you recently told us you'd heard stories while travelling through South America. Stories about creatures who were half human, half vampire."

"Yes, in Brazil. But they were only folk tales. You didn't come all this way to hear stories, I'm sure."

"We did, in fact. We have been researching the matter for months, but had run into a dead end. There is very little material available on the subject."

"So I would imagine. But why are you so fascinated by some bizarre urban legends, that you would cross the continent en masse to track down their source?"

Carlisle caught Edward's eye a moment, and Edward nodded and replied, "Because we have good reason to believe that they are not merely legends." A future image of Bella and EJ rejoining us, and being cordially accepted by Garrett, finally began to take shape. It was fairly clear. _You seem to be taking the right direction,_ I thought,

Garrett snorted, looking from one of us to the other, as if trying to determine if we were serious. "What reason could you have?"

"We have seen one such being in person." Garrett glared suspiciously at Edward, and he went on, "I'm not playing a trick, and I'm not lying. We have such an individual in our family."

Garrett crossed his arms, scanning the group. "Ah. And which one of you has the honour of being such a rare compound entity?" He smiled, seeming to be convinced, now, that he was being played.

"None of us here present. Another family member."

"Who just happens to be absent at the moment?" he asked sardonically. "Carlisle, I never took you for one to play practical jokes. Or is there more to this nonsense than meets the eye? Be honest with me, friend. What is this all about?"

"Edward is telling you the literal truth, Garrett. And the…additional family member does not just happen to be absent; she was removed from sight until we could explain the situation to you."

"Why?" he asked tightly.

"We could not risk your seeing her and coming to the wrong conclusion."

"What conclusion could I come to? If I saw a female vampire…" he gestured, at random, toward Carmen.

"But these hybrids, remember, do not start as adult vampires, as we all did. They are born, not transformed."

"And, what then?"

"They begin their lives as infants, as children. What would you assume if you saw a being with the qualities of a vampire, who appeared to be not much beyond infancy?"

Garrett's eyes widened. "That it was a…an…" He swallowed uncomfortably. Immortal Children were a horror. We didn't really like to mention_ them_ by name.

"Exactly."

"Carlisle…_you_ have not gone in for that sort of thing? Is this some roundabout way of rationalizing the making of…one of them?"

"Not at all, Garrett. Once you meet her, it will become abundantly clear that she is not an Immortal Child. Her nature is self apparent. But we had to be sure you would take the time to find that out."

"Rather than dashing off to the Italians after one glance?" Garrett studied us. "If all this is true, how did you come by such a creature?"

Edward spoke. "Bella, my wife, gave birth to her." Garrett's expression hardened again. "While she was still human," Edward explained.

"And she is now…?"

"Transformed a few months ago," Carlisle said, "and a member of our family."

"But how on earth did all this ever come about?"

Edward hesitated. "I met Bella while she was human. I loved her. We married, at my request, before she was changed. Soon after the wedding, she conceived a child." Garrett looked a little shocked at this part, but Edward went gamely on. "As your legends suggest, it was dangerous for her; but Carlisle was able to deliver the infant surgically, keeping both of them alive. Bella was physically traumatized by the experience; I changed her to ensure her safety."

"Amazing." Garrett thought a moment. "And this hybrid child?"

"She is over six months old now, but looks older by human standards."

"Her growth and development are unlike those of a human child," Carlisle explained, "and we have no idea what to expect in the coming years, or what she will need. That is why we are trying to find out what we can about others of her kind, if any others exist."

Garrett turned back to Carlisle with a laugh. "Incredible. I would never have dreamed of taking these stories seriously. Yes, I'll help you if I can. It would be well worth it, for the chance to witness such a phenomenon."

"Then I'll ask them to join us." Edward flipped open his cell and tapped a number; a moment later, he spoke into the phone. "Bella? Yes, it's fine. Come back, if you would." He clicked the phone shut, and seconds later, Bella appeared at a slight distance. Edward smiled and held out his hand, and she dashed to his side, EJ held tightly in her arms. "May I present my wife, Bella. Bella, this is Garrett."

Bella cautiously extended her hand. "I'm happy to meet you," she said.

Garrett shook hands with her, but his eyes were on EJ. "This is our daughter, Elizabeth," Edward told him.

"Incredible," Garrett said, staring. EJ looked back at him calmly. "Her heart beats; and yet…" He studied her closely. "Her scent! It's such a perfect mixture. Her blood is sweet, but the smell is balanced, somehow, by vampire essence. Her eyes - were they red at first, or have they always been this colour?"

"No, they have been this shade from birth," Edward answered. "They are the exact colour of Bella's eyes, when she was human." He looked into Bella's scarlet eyes with a tender smile.

Through the remaining afternoon and into the night, we stayed together, shifting when necessary to avoid passing humans, filling Garrett in on EJ's life so far. He wanted to know about her growth pattern, her diet, her behaviour. Once night had fallen and EJ was asleep in her father's arms, he asked discreetly about the pregnancy and birth.

As the night wore on, Garrett and Carlisle caught up, and Garrett learned more about how Carlisle's family, beginning with Edward, had gradually grown over the past century. The Denalis provided an account of each of their lives and of how they met; and finally, Garrett gave his new friends a summary of his life story as well.

"More and more amazing," Garrett told Carlisle. "You live in a civilized manner, almost like humans. You reside in a house, acquire an education. I have never known any of our kind to live this way, apart from the Volturi. You're almost royalty yourselves."

Carlisle grinned at him. "I know what a high regard _you_ have for royalty." Garrett laughed. "Our way of life makes us happy."

"Yes, I can see that. I have never encountered such a large coven. Especially yours, Carlisle - nine members? How do you remain at peace with each other? Or _do_ you? The Volturi, I understand, have methods of keeping their members loyal, but I assume you have no such techniques at your disposal?"

"Chelsea and Corin" Eleazar said. "They are responsible for the loyalty the Guard feel for their masters, and for their sense of contentment with their position. Without the two of them, the Volturi would never be able to maintain such a large coven."

"You seem to be familiar with their arrangements," Garrett remarked.

"I used to be a member of the Guard."

Garrett's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He looked over our group of fifteen. "And you have no such resources?"

"No, nothing of that kind. Our Jasper has a gift, the ability to modify emotions, which can be useful under many circumstances, but we seldom need his help among ourselves."

"And we have no help of that kind at all," Eleazar added.

"Refraining from human blood," Tanya explained, "seems to reduce our tendency to be disagreeable. We are able to form close attachments, not just between mates but among all family members, and to live together peacefully."

"You claim your unusual diet is responsible for that?"

"I, for one, have found no better explanation," Carlisle said.

We continued talking, and sometimes arguing, long into the night. We eventually came back to our original purpose in searching Garrett out. "You said you were looking for information on these legends of half vampire hybrids. How do you plan to find it?"

"Our immediate plan, after finding you and having the source of the stories confirmed, was to travel to Brazil ourselves and see what more could be learned."

"That's where you're travelling now?" Garrett asked.

"Yes. We've been discussing the question of whether we should run the rest of the way, or fly."

"Fly?" Garrett asked, surprised. "Take a plane?"

"Yes. We flew from New Hampshire to Virginia.

"You really do live almost like humans."

Carlisle smiled. "Almost."

"Well," Garrett said, "I was about to suggest I join you in your quest. I would be fascinated to see its conclusion. However, I think an airplane would be out of the question for me."

"Yes, I can see that," Carlisle agreed, "but I would be happy to have you join us, if the family doesn't object to concluding the trip on foot."

None of us did, of course. "The more the merrier," Emmett said.

We began moving south, gradually increasing our pace to an easy run, avoiding inhabited areas and staying out of sight by moving from one forest or state park to another, as we explained about our families.

When the sun rose and EJ woke up for the day, Garrett was given the opportunity to experience her gift, and learn about her life first hand. Even though we'd warned him in advance, he was shocked when she first began showing him her images; but he stood fast and watched until she was done. "Incredible," he said again. "Such a rare gift!" EJ touched his face again. "She…she seems to be telling me her mother and father are special as well."

"Seven of us have gifts of one kind or another," Carlisle said.

"Seven! Out of fifteen? That's just…"

"Statistically anomalous?" Jasper suggested.

"To say the least." Garrett looked at Carlisle. "I'm not going to ask again if you're pulling my leg. Did you deliberately seek out individuals with gifts?"

"Not at all," Carlisle said. "It was pure chance."

"And what particular talents do they have, if I many ask?"

"Edward can read the thoughts of others."

"Truly?" Garrett stared at Edward. "Can you tell me what I'm thinking now?"

"You're thinking of a battle," Edward said. "One that took place nearby."

"Quite right!" He pointed to a nearby field. "Just there. A minor battle of the Revolutionary War. Very well; what other abilities do you claim?"

"Alice can tell the future," Edward said. "And Jasper, as Carlisle mentioned, can read and modify emotions."

"Kate has a weapon," Tanya said. "She can shock people with a touch."

"I would imagine she could," Garrett smirked, and Kate laughed.

Tanya let that pass. "It's like an electric shock, and severely stuns the victim for several seconds."

"Useful," Garrett agreed. "Perhaps you can show me some time." Kate smiled back at him. I saw Jasper suppress a grin.

"Eleazar's gift is the ability to perceive the gifts of others," Tanya went on. "It is how he served the Volturi."

"EJ's gift you've already seen," I said, "and Bella has _two_ talents. She can shield her mind from any weapon or ability that works on the mind."

"Meaning she's the one person whose mind I'm unable to read," Edward said.

"And she also has another gift that she's still trying to work on. It lets her figure out what's going on when everyone else has missed it."

Garrett looked puzzled. "A gift of intuition, essentially," Eleazar explained. "It is still rather undeveloped."

"Yes; you are only six months old yourself, in this life," he said to Bella. "You seem remarkably calm for a comparative newborn."

Carlisle explained our theory, that Bella's months of preparation had allowed her to control herself in the early months, and the two of them debated the likelihood of this for a good many miles.

We took our time, occasionally letting EJ follow along with us on foot and slowing our pace to let her keep up. We followed the east coast, in order to avoid any spillover from the remaining Newborn War skirmishes in the south. The following evening, as we approached Orlando, we proposed stopping and taking hotel rooms, ostensibly to allow EJ to sleep in a bed. "It's what she's used to," Edward explained, apologizing for the delay. "We don't like her routine to be completely disturbed."

"Of course," Garrett said graciously. "Please continue with your lives as usual. Perhaps I'll take the opportunity to hunt - if you don't mind my mentioning the subject."

"I may do the same," Kate said.

"I don't suppose you'd care to join me?" Garrett asked, half jokingly.

"I'm afraid our approaches aren't compatible," she said. "Unless you'd like to join _me_."

"Hunting animals?" He looked skeptical.

"You might find the experience surprising," she said, "and it's certainly something you haven't tried before."

"It is that," he agreed. "Very well. I'll at least make the attempt."

"Excellent!"

"Shall we meet on this spot tomorrow morning?" Tanya asked. We all agreed.

Kate said a quick goodnight to the rest of us before dashing off into the night, Garrett following closely behind.

"Hmm." Tanya watched after them. "I was going to suggest we all hunt together, but I have a feeling those two should be left alone to work out their differences."

"And their similarities," Irina said. "Shall we go together, sister?"

"Very well." Tanya turned to us. "Have a pleasant night, everyone."

"Thank you," Carlisle smiled at her. "Good night, Tanya, Irina."

"A good night to all of you," Irina said over her shoulder, and she and Tanya ran off as well, in a different direction from the one Kate and Garrett had taken.

We checked in, obtaining five double rooms in a low-end hotel on the outskirts of town. Asked for our license plate numbers, Edward quickly responded that we were hiking down the coast together. The backpacks supported his claim, and the desk clerk shrugged and handed us five room keys, the old fashioned metal kind, to rooms that were accessed from the parking lot. The rooms provided privacy, however, and that's all we were actually looking for.

Bright and early the following morning, we returned to the spot where we'd left the others the night before. Tanya and Irina came running out of the woods seconds after our arrival, but Garrett and Kate turned up almost half an hour later, talking and laughing as they went, almost oblivious to our presence. Kate stopped and registered the waiting crowd. "I'm sorry! Have you been waiting long?"

"Just a few minutes," Tanya said. "Shall we continue?"


	12. South American Way

We disputed, briefly, over how to proceed once we reached central Florida. Some of us wanted to swim to Cuba, and from there to to northern coast of Venezuela, before continuing on foot. EJ was all for the swimming plan, but Bella was nervous about letting EJ loose in the ocean, and Edward didn't want his iPod to get wet, and I had my concerns about the effect of salt water on our clothing. In the end the landlubbers' contingent won out, and we followed the coastline around the Gulf of Mexico. The longer trip gave us plenty of time to talk as we went.

"Garrett," Emmett called out, "what did you think of hunting our way?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "It was not what I'd call a stellar experience, but it was less unpleasant than I'd expected."

"What'd you get?" I asked him.

"Excuse me? Oh, what species, you mean? A black bear."

"Aw!" Emmett said.

"Emmett prefers bear," Edward explained.

"Kate took a deer," Garrett said with a grimace. "The scent was quite unappealing."

"I thought you should start out with something easier," Kate told him. "You kind of have to work up to herbivores. At least, most people do," she added, with a smile at Carlisle.

"What surprised me was how well it quenched my thirst," Garrett went on. "Not completely, but enough. I don't feel the need to hunt."

"That's our experience," Jasper said. "It is never completely satisfying, but adequate. It allows us to refrain from conventional hunting."

"That is the central point, of course," Garrett said, looking at Carlisle. "You would not choose this approach if it were not for ethical concerns."

"That's true," Carlisle agreed. "What we do makes it possible to refrain from taking human life."

"But many species will kill a human for food," Garrett argued. "We don't condemn the predator who kills and devours a rabbit. Why should we be under such constraints, when our instincts clearly define humans as our natural prey?"

"Other species are not sentient. They are not answerable to any moral standard. We _are_ answerable, simply because we know better."

EJ, riding along on her father's back, listening, placed a hand against his neck, and he smothered a laugh.

Garrett smiled over at them. "Does the child think our argument is funny?"

"Not exactly," Edward said hesitantly. "She…well, she has never encountered anyone who hunts in the conventional manner before. She finds your argument, er, surprising."

"Surprising?"

"Yes. She was saying…forgive me, she wonders why an infant like herself can understand the moral issues involved, when a mature vampire does not."

Garrett, far from being offended, laughed heartily. "It's a good question, child," he told EJ. "I suppose the reason may be that I never took the trouble to think very deeply about it."

He and Carlisle went on discussing some of the finer points. When they started getting into blood chemistry, I tuned out and brought my attention to a conversation between Jasper and Bella. She actually had him laughing. Bella was making plans for her first time in college, whenever that might be. "I know you like history, but I can't imagine sitting through three or four years of it."

"You like the idea of studying English literature," he said.

"Of course. I've always loved reading."

"Well, think of history as a series of sequential novels and short stories, set in different times and places. The only difference is, they're about real people instead of fictional characters, and the stories are accounts of actual events."

"Are they, though?"

"Are they...what?" Jasper asked, surprised. "Actual events?"

"Yeah. You've complained before that the Civil War isn't accurately portrayed in books and movies, and even in history books."

"Well, that's true enough, but historians are at least trying to give a true description."

"_Are_ they, though?"

Jasper laughed. "You don't think they're really trying?"

"Probably some of them are, but others are just trying to defend their side."

"No doubt that's true. There are certainly historical accounts that are obviously and purposely biased."

"What about the ones that are biased but not as obvious about it? They wouldn't get noticed, just accepted as historical fact, right?"

"Possibly." Jasper caught my eye, and I grinned. Bella had once been shy with Jasper, but since her change they'd become great friends. She seemed to regard him as a safe place against which to bounce ideas, without fear of giving offence.

"So history books come from whoever's in a position to write them."

"History is written by the victors, they say," Jasper said.

"Exactly!" she said triumphantly.

He grinned. "I wasn't really agreeing with you."

"_Weren't_ you, though?" Jasper stifled a laugh. "I mean, if only one side in a dispute is heard from, _every_ historical account is biased. If it's all that biased, how is it that different from fiction? And if you're going to read fiction," she concluded emphatically, "you might as well read _good_ fiction. Which most history books wouldn't be."

"But," Jasper countered, "not all historical accounts are biased."

"Probably not, but how do you know which is which?"

"That is where the study of history moves on from the mere reading of accounts, to the scrutiny of those accounts, comparison of one with another in a search for inconsistencies. You've only encountered a fairly superficial study of history during your time in school. Peeling away the biases and deliberate propaganda, and finding the objective truth is the ultimate goal of the study of history."

"Well," Bella conceded, "that would be worthwhile - if it's really possible. How do you even start, if you don't know from the outset which accounts are fair and balanced?"

"Some historians ignore formal accounts to begin with. They go for documents nobody would think to falsify."

"Like what?"

"Household accounts, private letters, bills, servants' records - all kinds of things."

"Oh, I see! It's kind of like detective work, isn't it? Charlie told me once," she winced slightly, as she always did when her parents were mentioned, "that when everybody involved in a crime seems to be lying to you, it can help to look at unimportant things. Bills and stuff, like you said. It's like solving a mystery." Bella seemed intrigued by that approach.

"Perhaps you could try studying history some time," Jasper suggested again.

She shrugged. "Maybe I will, then."

"I _think_ we just crossed over into Venezuela," Emmett pointed out.

EJ immediately put her hand against the face of Bella, who was carrying her, and Bella attempted to explain the geography of North and South America and our current position.

"All I need now is a tall hat made of fruit," I said.

EJ touched Bella's face again. "Um, I'm not sure about that one, honey." Rosalie stepped up and started trying to describe the phenomenon of Carmen Miranda.

"_Ai ai, ai ai_," I sang, "_É o canto do pregoneiro_…" Several of the others joined in, and EJ gave up asking questions and listened, clapping her hands delightedly when we concluded. "That hazy, lazy, like kind of crazy, like South American way!"

We crossed the border into Brazil early in the morning. EJ woke up in Esme's arms, sat up and looked around. Esme tried to explain to her where we were in relation to our starting point. We stopped and Esme let EJ drop to the ground so Carlisle could take another of the twice-daily measurements she'd had since birth.

"Once you are in central Brazil, will you simply live as a nomad until you return home?" Garrett asked.

"No, that won't be necessary," Carlisle said. "We own property in Bolivia, just over the border. We'll use that as our home base."

"You never cease to surprise me," Garrett said. "I suppose you have real estate at various points around the world."

"As a matter of fact, we do."

"We have to move fairly often," Esme explained, "before anyone notices we aren't aging; so we like to keep a prospective home available at all times."

"The house here is secluded, and the guests and staff are gone," Carlisle told Garrett, "which means we can offer you hospitality."

Garrett looked quite surprised. "You're sure no one will be on site? I would not want my appearance to cause trouble for you."

"No, there are no residents nearby; and if a human approaches, of course you would have ample time to get out of sight."

"It's many years since I lived in a house," Garrett said, a little wistfully, I thought.

"Perhaps you would enjoy reliving the experience. Please, stay with us while we are here."

"Thank you," Garrett said simply. "I would be happy to. How do you come to own property in Bolivia?"

"We thought, at one time, that we might live here for a few years. Esme remodelled the place beautifully, and it exists now in the guise of an eco-tourism lodge."

"A spectacularly unsuccessful one," Jasper added, grinning. "Which is why we can call the manager at almost any time, and tell him to vacate the place for us on very short notice."

"Eco-tourism," Garrett repeated, as though the word wasn't quite familiar to him.

"Basically, what you've been doing since 1800," Carlisle said with a laugh. "Experiencing the wilderness directly. The building is located equidistant from three large national parks, and serves as a hotel for nature-lovers."

"Handy for us," Emmett noted. "Plentiful wildlife. Only one bear species down here, though, and it's endangered."

Garrett looked at him. "You not only refrain from hunting humans, you also avoid protected species?"

Carlisle shrugged. "It's no more than enlightened self interest to keep large mammal species viable."

Garrett laughed. "I suppose it is."

EJ squirmed in Esme's arms, struggling to get down. "Can we slow down a bit?" Esme asked. "Our youngest member wants to run." She set EJ on her feet, and we all adjusted our pace to allow for her.

"And what do you like to eat, young Elizabeth?" Garrett asked her. "Or drink, as the case may be?"

EJ reached a hand toward him, then, seeing that it would be inconvenient, used her voice. "Cats," she said.

Garrett laughed in surprise at the sound. "I didn't know you could speak aloud!"

"EJ's very advanced for her age," Bella said. "She can even read."

"I don't like to talk as much," EJ said, getting chatty now that she was all warmed up. "I'd rather use my pictures."

"Why is that?" Garrett asked her.

"People understand better."

"I see. Well, I do understand cats. I suppose they are more manageable for someone your size than bears. What else do you feed on?"

She thought a moment. "Raccoons." She wrinkled her nose slightly. "Sometimes Mama gives me human food. I don't like that as much."

"She can eat food as well, and apparently thrive on it," Edward explained. "Her preference has always been for blood."

"Human blood is best," EJ confided, "but I can't have it any more."

At Garrett's startled look, Carlisle quickly explained about the donated blood.

We saw the shoreline ahead of us, a few minutes before EJ did. She pointed excitedly and jumped into Bella's arms, seizing her around the neck. "I'm not sure, baby."

"What does she want?" Edward asked.

"To go swimming."

"There will still be people on the beach at this time of day, dear," Esme told her. "Maybe later on."

"Our house is near a lake," Carlisle pointed out. "A small lake, like the one you swam in before." EJ smiled, apparently content to wait.

Edward shifted her onto his back, and we increased our speed, able to travel in a more or less straight line through the heavily forested interior, and arriving at the Bolivian border in the late afternoon. We circled the site of our eco-lodge, making sure no humans had remained behind, before entering. The staff had followed our instructions, leaving the place clean and empty, but the guest rooms made up and ready to be occupied. EJ leapt out of Edward's arms and began exploring on her own. Esme gave the Denalis and Garrett a quick tour, and we distributed rooms. Edward and Bella were given a room with an alcove containing a cot in which EJ could sleep; Garrett accepted a slightly rustic loft area which he said reminded him of a treehouse. The three sisters were given the large suite to share.

Garrett joined Jasper and me as we took a quick tour of the outdoor property, checking for any worn equipment or other inadequacies we could report to the lodge staff.

"Why would you do that?" Garrett asked.

"We're supposed to be the owners of this facility. We should show at least occasional interest in the running of the place. The staff will expect it. We'll leave a written report with suggestions for improvement, and disappear for another year or so."

Garrett chuckled. "And I suppose you have other roles of that kind to fulfill as well, all over the world."

Jasper grinned. "You suppose correctly."

"Your lives are rather complicated."

"It keeps things interesting," I said.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Why does everyone receive a bedroom for the night?" he asked. ""It seems like a pointless charade. Do you pretend to sleep, as part of your human-like personas?"

Was he that naive? "The married couples get a room to themselves, for privacy." He nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

"We also find it important that each of us have a private space of our own," Jasper added. "So many of us sharing close quarters makes that a necessity. We have our own area for reading or hobbies, or simply as a place to withdraw from company."

Garrett nodded again, seeming deep in thought. "I imagine the other family lives much the same way?"

"Tanya's family? Yes, more or less the same."

We returned to the house, where everyone was gathered in the dining hall, reminiscent of our dining-table meetings back home. We took places, Jasper and I next to Bella, Garrett slipping in beside Kate.

Carlisle addressed us. "The plan for tomorrow is to move through the forest in a north-west direction. I'm hoping to find any vampires who live in the area, but in particular a small coven I am acquainted with. I would recognize any of them by scent, and they would know me, so it is essential that I go. However, it is also advisable for Elizabeth to stay behind, at least for now. Bella plans to remain here with her. I'd like to know who intends to accompany me, and who plans to stay at home."

"I think everyone would rather go with you," Emmett said. "Lots more potential for excitement."

Carlisle smiled. "Certainly, but at least a few should be on hand here. It is unlikely you'll run into trouble, but if anyone should become aware of our presence and come to investigate, I would not want Bella and Elizabeth left alone."

"Good point," Emmett conceded. "Well, I'll stay if Rosie will."

"Of course, I'll stay with the baby," Rosalie agreed, smiling at EJ.

"Shall I stay?" Edward asked.

"Edward, your presence might be especially valuable to me. I'd appreciate it if you'd come along. Jasper and Alice as well, if you don't mind."

"No problem," I said, and Jasper gave a nod.

Tanya volunteered to stay behind as well; the rest of us were to accompany Carlisle. "Alice, do you see anything at this point?"

I'd been looking, but not enough had been decided. "It's not clear yet. I see several possibilities: us finding nothing; finding one female vampire who runs away from us; finding three females who don't run; and finding a group of humans doing some kind of survey of the rainforest." That last one had a lot of possible results running off it, like little cracks in the ice spreading out from one large crack. Still too vague, though.

"None is more likely than another?" Jasper asked.

"Not yet. I think it'll clear up once we choose a direction."

"What are they surveying the rainforest for?" Bella asked, frowning.

"I don't know. If that future becomes more likely, I'll let you know."

"Please tell me if the three females become clearer at any point, Alice," Carlisle said. "They may be the individuals I met years ago."

"Will do."

"Thank you, everyone," Carlisle said, and the meeting broke up. Rose and Emmett ran upstairs to get a head start on their night; Bella and Edward sat together, telling EJ a bedtime story; Carlisle, Esme, Tanya and Irina sat talking and making plans. I took Jasper's hand and we slipped outside.

The sun had set, and the colours of the forest around us were beautiful and rich, like jewels. I could smell the greenery, the animal life, and the little lake nearby; and in the intense quiet of this isolated spot, could hear every rustle of leaves and flutter of insect wings. "It's beautiful here," I said. "So is New Hampshire, but this is a different kind of beautiful."

"Yes, it is."

"What's the most beautiful place you've ever seen?" I asked idly.

"Philadelphia." He grinned that beautiful, joyful grin that was so seldom seen.

"It _was_ beautiful," I agreed, reaching up to touch his face. "It was where my life began." That tacky old diner always seemed, in my mind's eye, to glow as if it were luminous. After endless years of watching Jasper in my future, seeing him walk through that door, real and physically present, was explosive.

We stood perfectly still, watching each other's eyes, only moving when we heard two more come through the door. Kate and Garrett went walking together, slowly, talking softly as they went.

I waited until they were out of sight, and asked, "Are those two getting as close as they seem to be?"

"Yes, but there's a little resistance on both sides. They seem to regard it as a mere playful flirtation, but it's not. Their feelings are already deeper than either of them consciously realize."

"Why would there be a resistance? They're both unattached, they seem perfect for each other…"

"I can't tell why. They've both been single a long time; it can be a hard habit to break."

I looked ahead. "I see them going back to the Denalis' home together; but it's not distinct yet. There's fluctuations."

"I'm not surprised. Give them time to decide."

"Of course. I'm no matchmaker." I'm just a wedding planner. I started making a mental list of possibilities for Kate and Garrett's theoretical nuptials. Kate would look fantastic in a halter neck gown.

When we returned to the house, only Tanya and Irina were still downstairs, playing some board game left in a cupboard for the guests. We wished them good night and ran to our room, to make the most of the remaining hours.

We were all downstairs soon after dawn, ready to go. After some last minute instructions on approaching any life forms we encountered on our travels, we said goodbye to the stay-behinds. EJ waved us off like Queen Elizabeth bidding farewell to her fleet of warships.

At Carlisle's suggestion, we took a systematic approach, rather than just wandering and looking randomly. We began by running the perimeter of a large section of forest, then spiralling inward. At one point, Carlisle stopped us. "The scent here is familiar. It's one of the members of the coven I met long ago."

"Can you track her from here?" Jasper asked.

He shook his head. "I don't think so. The trail is cold. But at least I know they've been through here. Let's move north-east and take the same approach."

We continued in this manner until we were suddenly hit by the scent of humans. Jasper quickly caught his breath. After being away from human contact for a while, the scent hit me a little harder than usual. We all gulped, and took a moment to steady ourselves.

"Why are there humans in the middle of the rainforest?" Kate asked.

Carlisle moved closer until they came into sight. "I believe they are the surveyors Alice had a glimpse of."

Sure enough, there were five men, dressed in fairly high end American casual wear, with cameras, clipboards, and what I thought was surveying equipment. "It doesn't really make sense," I said. "What are they planning to do, build a highway through the jungle?"

"Not quite," Edward said. "There's some multi-level plan involving mining and cash crops. These people are just gathering preliminary information."

"I'd hate to see more of this beautiful forest taken down," Esme said.

"They may be prevented," Carlisle said. "Local inhabitants have tried to use legal means before to stop encroachment on the rainforest. Not always successfully."

As we watched, something odd happened. The men, who had all been as continuously busy as ants, began to slow down their activity; to stop periodically and look around. They seemed nervous. Finally, the work stopped altogether, and the men clustered together in a small clearing, talking uneasily among themselves and looking around. I couldn't see anything unusual.

Suddenly the men all looked in one direction, and backed away in unison, as though faced with some terrible threat. One of them kept swearing quietly to himself, over and over. A second man said, "Shut up! Shut up!" to the first, who ignored him.

"That's not real," a third man said, not very convincingly. "You know it can't be…."

Suddenly they were all in motion, moving and dodging as though being attacked from all sides by invisible enemies. The swearing man wet his pants. The one who had wanted him to shut up began screaming like a woman in a monster movie. Even though there was nothing near them but the trees, their fear was so intense, and so palpable, I felt just a little frightened myself.

Jasper nodded to our right. "Vampires."

"I can smell them," Carlisle said. "It's the coven I was looking for."

"Should we go to them?"

"Not yet." Carlisle kept his eyes fixed on the five men. "Let her finish with these people first."

"Finish?" I asked, but Carlisle held up a hand.

The men seemed to be trying to make a break for it, searching for a way out, as if being blocked, even though there was nothing in their way. Finally, three of them dashed away. A fourth fell to his knees, blubbering. The fifth, the calmest, relatively speaking, tried to gather his equipment before running off, but suddenly leapt back, and decided to leave it behind. He grabbed the fallen man by the arm, yelling at him to run, and finally the crying one got to his feet and stumbled after his companion. We heard their footsteps in the distance, then the sound of a vehicle being started and driven rapidly away.

"Well, that was bizarre behaviour, even for humans," Garrett commented. "What on earth possessed them?"

"I believe I know," Carlisle said, leading us toward the vampire scent. "Let me go ahead. I want to be sure they recognize us as friends."

We moved a short distance to the north. The scent was stronger now, and very fresh: three vampires, clearly. All at once, Carlisle called out, "Zafrina! Senna! Kachiri! Do you recognize me?"

We stood in silence for several seconds before a voice came back to us, a female voice, but deep and resonant, with an unfamiliar accent. "I know _you_, Carlisle. I do not remember all these others. Are you bringing an army with you this time?"

Carlisle smiled. "No army, Kachiri. These are friends of mine."

I could hear the three of them talking together softly, in a language I didn't know. Finally, the speakers stepped into view through the trees. They were beautiful but in a peculiar way, tall and strong, with long oval faces and pronounced features. I felt a fleeting stab of envy for their appearance, so much more formidable than my own. Only for a second, though. I'm not given to low self esteem. The three females were dressed similarly, mostly in form fitting garments made of animal skins or fur. They would have caused an absolute riot in Paris during Fashion Week.

One of the three Alternative Muses raised a slender hand. "Hello, Carlisle."

Carlisle smiled and nodded as if he were at a cocktail party. "Kachiri. It's good to see you again. Senna, Zafrina." I glanced at Jasper. He was standing quietly, his hands clasped in front of him, watching the trio intently. I knew he was monitoring their emotions, making sure they were not hostile.

The one called Senna tilted her head to look at Carlisle. "After so many years, you come back with a retinue? Or are they your bodyguards?"

"Neither. They are my family and friends." Senna tilted her head the other way, making her look like a curious cat. "They are to me what you three are to each other."

"So many?"

"And five more as well, in another part of the forest."

"Are there any vampires left in your part of the world?" Kachiri asked, and they laughed. "That is maybe why you are here now. You are looking for more?"

Carlisle laughed with them. "No. The fact is, I was looking for you - for all three of you. It will take some time to explain."

"We have some time." Zafrina looked at us. "I am Zafrina, this is Senna, and this is Kachiri."

We all introduced ourselves, and Zafrina, who seemed to be the de facto leader, asked us each polite questions about our relationship to Carlisle and how we had come to join his coven. Edward asked them similar questions in return, which seemed to make them more friendly toward us than before. Apparently this was considered the proper way to begin a new acquaintance, in the etiquette of their culture. I studied them more carefully as they chatted. Zafrina was clearly leader material, strong and confident. Kachiri was the prettiest, but Senna had the most gorgeous scent I'd ever encountered, something like cedar with an amber undertone. I was surprised she was still single.

"So," Zafrina said to Carlisle, "you came seeking us. Did it take you long to find us?"

"Not long, no. I knew you were nearby when I observed the five men studying the forest."

Zafrina smiled broadly, which was a slightly shocking experience. "You recognized my work, did you? Were they very frightened?"

"They could hardly have been more so, and still be able to run away."

"Good," she said grimly. "They are working for greedy men making stupid plans. Maybe if no one can work in the forest, they will give up."

"What did they see?"

"The trees coming to life and growing eyes, moving across the ground and trying to attack them."

"That sounds very effective."

Zafrina grinned at him. "Would you like to see?"

"Thank you, no," Carlisle laughed. "Zafrina has a gift," he explained to us, "a very impressive gift. She can make another person see whatever she wishes him to see."

"Or another five persons," she said, grinning fiercely in the direction of the unfortunate surveyors.

We talked for a time about what the three females had been doing since they last saw Carlisle, and a little bit about what Carlisle had been up to. It appeared to be a necessary courtesy, although Carlisle seemed genuinely interested in the updates on the forest, the sea, and the weather, along with indifferent asides about the doings of the humans in the area. At last, Zafrina asked, "You say you were looking for us, Carlisle. Was that for a particular purpose? Not just to meet with old friends?"

"Meeting with old friends is always worthwhile," Carlisle said affably, "but there was a purpose to my visit. I was seeking information, which I thought you might have."

"Information about what?"

"Stories which the humans have been telling, true or not, about beings that live in the forest. Half vampire, and half human."

The three Amazons seemed to stiffen. "Why would you be interested in things of that kind?" Senna asked.

"May I say, for now, only that I have my reasons," Carlisle said. "I apologize if the question is inappropriate."

"No," Zafrina said slowly, "only that some of it is unpleasant to tell."

"You have heard of such creatures, then?" Edward asked eagerly.

"I have heard of them," she said. "Stories about them are very common just now."

"Score," I murmured.

"What do you say?" Kachiri asked me.

"Just that we seem to be closer to what we've been looking for."

"Will you tell me what you know of them?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, if you will then tell me why you are searching out this information," Zafrina said.

"Gladly."

Zafrina gazed off over Carlisle's shoulder and began to speak, in a slightly sing-song voice. I realized she was adopting the conventional storytelling attitude of her culture. "From long ago, there have been tales of human women who were taken by vampire males, seduced or taken by force, and become pregnant with their child. The child always kills the mother. Sometimes the mother will be killed long before it is time to give birth, and the little one, too young to live outside her body, dies along with her. Other times, the woman survives long enough that the child can escape from her womb alive, leaving his mother's corpse. If the woman survives the birth, the infant will drink her blood, and so she will die in any case. "

Edward looked a little tense at this point, and I squeezed his hand reassuringly. _Bella is alive and well,_ I reminded him, and he gave me a quick smile.

"This is something that would happen rarely, they say; once in hundreds of years," Zafrina went on. "Then, seventy or eighty years ago, the stories began to change. We heard from others of a coven of these children, grown into adults."

"We did not believe any of it, at first," Senna added. "But we began to hear stories even from our own kind. Some claimed to have seen these things for themselves. They were vampires, but their scent was not right. They were a mixture of vampire and human. And their hearts beat."

"They were strangely beautiful, we were told," Kachiri said thoughtfully, "even though they were slower than vampires, less graceful. Perhaps it was only that the blood made them appealing, but…some think they had a kind of _atraçao magica_, because of their mixed nature."

"So you believe these stories?" Carlisle asked.

She shrugged. "Those we spoke to had no reason to lie."

"But where did they come from?" Esme asked. "Why is there an entire coven of them, when it was such a rare occurrence?"

"We heard from one of our kind, one who was passing through and had travelled through Chile. He claimed they all came from one person," Zafrina said, her expression darkening. "He is doing it deliberately, so the story goes; making these _misturado_ children. He thinks it is some kind of experiment. I think he is not right in his mind."

"An experiment?" Carlisle repeated.

"Oh, yes. He is the Great Scientist," Senna scoffed, her accent becoming more pronounced as she grew angry. "The human race is his laboratory, see? He makes half vampires with human women."

"God's blood!" Carlisle murmured.

"It is as Zafrina said," Kachiri told us. "He is crazy."

"Is he still in the area?"

"From what we hear, he is around. He and his three little experiments."

"Three?" Edward asked. "There are three of them, all half human?"

"Yes, three girls."

"All girls," Carlisle mused. "I wonder if hybrids of this kind can only be female for some reason."

"No, no. He has a boy, too," Zafrina said.

"A boy?"

"A man, rather. Not with _him_. The son does not stay with the scientist; only the daughters. The boy goes about with a female - a vampire, not another child of the scientist's. They were also seen west of here, in Chile."

"Four of them? That is all?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes, as far as we know."

"Zafrina," Carlisle said, "I would be very grateful if you could tell me as much as you know about these individuals. About their growth and development, and what becomes of them when they reach adulthood, in particular."

"I would not object," Zafrina replied, "but is it not time you told me why you need this information?"

"I suppose it is." Carlisle glanced back at Edward and at Jasper. Receiving the silent green light from both, he faced Zafrina again. "I have never heard of anyone doing what you describe deliberately, as an experiment or for any other purpose. However, a member of my family has produced such a person, a half human, inadvertently."

Kachiri snorted. "How is that possible? Nobody does such a thing by accident!"

"They do if they are unaware of the possibility." The trio watched him. "My son, Edward, has a wife - a mate - named Bella."

"And she is one of these half humans?" Senna asked.

"No, she is a vampire. But when he met her, she was human. She asked to be transformed, so she could remain with Edward, and he agreed to her request. But before the change, she conceived a child."

The three Amazons froze in place, staring at Carlisle. He definitely had their attention.

"Edward had no idea - none of us did - that it was possible for a vampire and a human to produce children."

"If I'd even suspected," Edward said quietly, "I would never have put her at such risk. But once we knew of the pregnancy, Bella insisted on making every effort to allow our child to be born alive."

"Foolish girl!" Kachiri exclaimed.

"Perhaps," Carlisle said, "but we have learned to respect Bella's judgment more than we once did." I smiled at that. "In any case, we did what we could to protect Bella's health during the pregnancy, and she survived the birth."

"But how?" Zafrina asked.

"I delivered the baby before labour began," Carlisle explained. "I have some medical training. Both mother and child were alive, but Bella was unwell. Edward transformed her to ensure her safety."

"I see. And this child - a boy?"

"A girl," Edward said, smiling a little.

"She is with you?" Zafrina looked us over searchingly. "No, I hear no heartbeat. The mixed children, we were told they have blood, a pulse."

"She is some distance away, with her mother and other family members," Carlisle said.

"Ah. Making sure she is safe from my sisters and me, is that right?"

Carlisle grinned. "Yes, that's right."

"Well, _we_ are no threat to the girl," Zafrina said indifferently. "We have never thought to harm the great scientist's daughters, or his estranged son, and we will not harm your half human."

"Thank you."

"So this is why you wish to know so much about the mixed children? Because you are caring for one of your own?"

"Yes, and we have very little information to work with. We don't even know what to expect in terms of her growth. She is growing rapidly now, from an infant to a child, but her growth is gradually slowing. When does she become an adult? And what happens then? Does she grow old? Die?"

"I can only repeat what I have heard from others," Zafrina said, "The scientist's children are said to be adults, and they have remained the same for many decades, at least."

"Remained the same?" Edward asked.

"Yes, if the stories are true, they become adults, looking, let us say, the age of a youth or girl ready for marriage, and then they stop and remain the same."

We all looked at each other. This was encouraging news.

"Would you be willing to tell all this to the rest of my friends? In particular, to the child's mother?"

The three Amazons looked at each other, seeming to communicate. "Very well," Zafrina said. "In fact, I would welcome a chance to see this _inadvertent_ child of yours."

"Then please," Carlisle gestured to the south west, "come back with us."


	13. Vacation

When we neared the lodge, Edward asked us to stop. "Let me run ahead and let them know you're arriving, if you don't mind."

"Would they be startled by us?" Zafrina asked, grinning. "Yes, go tell them." He darted off.

Our new friends were the ones who were startled, once we came within sight of the building. "You live here, in this house?" Kachiri asked.

"For the time being," Carlisle said. "We have a permanent house of our own, in the place we came from."

The home guard came outside to meet us, Bella carrying EJ in her arms and staring warily at our visitors. They actually _did_ look a little startling, like a female glam-rock band gone feral, but they grew on you quickly.

"What have we here?" Emmett murmured.

Carlisle was debonair as always. "Let me introduce our new friends: Zafrina, Kachiri, and Senna," he said, indicating each of the sisters in turn. "This is Emmett and Rosalie; Tanya; Edward's wife, Bella; and of course, this is their daughter, Elizabeth."

After a nod of greeting for the others, the Amazons focused on EJ. "Just like the others," Kachiri said.

"Others?" Bella repeated, looking at Edward.

"Yes, our new friends were able to provide more help than we'd ever hoped for," Edward said. "They have not only heard stories about half human, half vampire children, they have spoken to some who claim to be eye witnesses to their existence."

Zafrina repeated what she'd told Carlisle, about the mad scientist and his three daughters and rogue son.

"So there are more like EJ?" Bella asked eagerly. "Four of them, at least?"

"Please, can we hear more about these individuals?" Edward asked.

"Yes, _please_!" Bella echoed.

"How long did it take them to become adults?" Bella asked. EJ, who seemed to understand what we were discussing, sat quietly in Esme's arms, listening intently.

"I don't think we could say for sure," Zafrina answered. "We were not certain that these were anything more than stories."

"But the stories suggest they don't age, once they're grown up?"

"That is correct, and the oldest has supposedly been in the forest at least a century."

"Do you know anything of their abilities, their weaknesses, mental or physical?"

"Unfortunately," Kachiri said, "we have only second hand accounts."

Zafrina added, "When running, they are said to be slower and less agile than vampires, although far above human capabilities. They are very beautiful, with skin and eyes like a human's in colour."

The questions went on, the three Amazons answering us willingly enough, but providing not that much information. "We just don't know very much," Zafrina said at last. "We might have asked to know more, if we had believed it was true."

"I understand," Carlisle said. "I'm grateful to you for the information you've already provided. It eases our concerns a great deal."

The Amazons stayed a while, seeming fascinated by EJ and the experience of meeting people who lived in a house, and the conversation became less of an interrogation. At one point, Kachiri mentioned the troubles in recent years with portions of the forest being despoiled.

"That is how Carlisle found us," Senna laughed. "We were chasing away more people with plans for the forest."

Carlisle described the incident, and Zafrina's gift.

"Maybe if we scare away enough of these people, they will give up," Kachiri sighed.

EJ ran to touch Carlisle's arm excitedly, staring at Zafrina. "What does the child want?" Zafrina asked.

Carlisle glanced at Edward, and seemed to get the green light. "She wants to know more about your gift. And…she wants to tell you that she has a similar gift."

"Does she?" Zafrina smiled down on EJ. "She can make others see what she wishes?"

"Not exactly," Edward said. "She can make others see what she sees. Her thoughts, her memories."

"I can show you," EJ told Zafrina.

Zafrina obligingly crouched down and let EJ press a little palm against her face. She startled visibly, but kept her place. "Oh! That is…" She broke off, her eyes distant, and seemed to watch or listen intently.

"What are you seeing?" Senna asked, watching them curiously.

"Everything she remembers," Zafrina said quietly. "Not everything - she is choosing important events to show me. But I see them almost as if they were my own memories." A few seconds later, EJ let her hand drop. "That is an incredible gift, little one." EJ grinned happily.

Of course, the other Amazons demanded their turn, and EJ willingly showed her 'pictures' to them as well. Then she grasped Zafrina's hand and looked up at her expectantly.

"Um…Zafrina," Edward began uncertainly.

"What is she asking?" Bella wanted to know. EJ seemed to have taken to the Amazons immediately, but Bella was obviously a little uneasy about them being close to her daughter.

"She wants Zafrina to demonstrate her gift. I'm sure she will take into account that she is dealing with a very young child," Edward said pointedly, placing a reassuring hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Of course, Edward," Zafrina said. "I will show her nothing bad, nothing frightening. If you wish, I will show you at the same time." He nodded.

A moment later, he gasped, and his eyes unfocused. EJ laughed and clapped her hands, also appearing to stare into empty space. "What do you see?" Bella asked.

"I'll show you all, shall I?" Zafrina asked. An instant later, I was no longer standing on the floor of the lodge's main reception room, but on a sandy beach. Waves crashed silently on the shore nearby, and the sun sparkled off the water. I was standing alone.

"Jazz?" I said, reaching for him. I was relieved to feel his hand take mine, but I couldn't see him.

"You may see each other, if you like," Zafrina said, and suddenly we were all standing together on the same beach.

"It's so real!" Esme exclaimed.

"Oh, yes. Shall I make it less real?" Zafrina asked playfully. Strange, rainbow-coloured fish began to leap out of the water in a graceful arc, one after the other; then tiny pink and green birds, like jewel-encrusted hummingbirds, flew to us, gathered to fly in a neat circle around our heads, and darted off into the trees. As the grande finale, a shimmering, dark-haired mermaid leapt from the surf and waved to us before diving back into the sea.

Finally, the image faded and disappeared, and we were back in our house.

"That was so cool!" Emmett said, looking at Rose. "Did you see it?"

"We all saw it, I assume," Jasper said. "A very impressive gift," he told Zafrina.

"Thank you." She looked pleased at our reaction. "Did you like that, _menina_?" she asked EJ, who nodded emphatically.

"I suppose everyone liked it, except Bella," Rosalie joked.

Bella grinned. "What did you see?"

"A sunny beach, with these Doctor Seuss animals swimming or flying around," I told her.

"You did not see?" Zafrina asked in surprise. Bella shook her head.

"Bella's gift is a shield against all abilities that act on the mind," Edward explained. "We've never encountered anyone whose gift could penetrate her shield - with the one exception of her own daughter."

"Mama can see _my_ pictures," EJ confirmed, smiling at Bella.

"Interesting," Zafrina said, staring at Bella. As usual, this led to a recitation of all the gifts our family possessed. The Amazons looked impressed. "You would be a hard coven to defeat, certainly."

"We have had occasion to defend ourselves," Carlisle admitted, "but primarily our gifts are useful in avoiding trouble before it begins."

"Much to be preferred," Zafrina agreed. "I only use my gift when my sisters or I are threatened. Or, of course, against _malfeitores_ like the men you saw earlier."

Night fell, and when EJ fell asleep on her mother's lap, the Amazons took their leave. "We will see you again, I think," Zafrina said. "Will you be here for long?"

"Our plans are unfixed," Carlisle told her. "I was hoping to speak with the son you told me about, if I can find him, and if he is willing."

"We may be able to help with that," Zafrina said. Calling out farewells to the rest of us, the three Amazons ran off into the forest.

We all chatted together a while longer, running through the events of the day and making plans. Eventually, Rose and Emmett said goodnight and ran up the stairs together; then Carmen and Eleazar did the same. I looked over at Jasper; he was on the computer, making the changes to our portfolio I'd recommended earlier that day. I saw the bottom falling out of one of our stocks, and advised him to sell and put everything on a company that had just patented a new synthetic latex. He caught my eye and grinned, gesturing 'just a minute.'

I absently responded to Esme's goodnight as she and Carlisle disappeared up the stairs, and wandered outside. I liked the way the surrounding forest looked in the darkness, and the solitude made it easier for me to run quickly through the various things I was keeping track of. I saw the Amazons coming back for another visit, but otherwise things were fuzzy. Even images of our return to New Hampshire were uncertain. Maybe we'd be staying here a while. The Volturi had no plans that affected us; and every individual in the family were secure for the foreseeable future. Synthetic latex stock would quadruple in value in just over a month. Michael Kors would rethink his plans for a fall line based on square dance wear, mercifully. That seemed to be about all for now; I concluded my security scan. I returned to the present as Jasper left the house and approached me.

"All quiet?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Would you like to go in, or shall we take a run in the forest?"

"The forest," I said. "I think I'd like the extra privacy." Maybe it was the influence of the Amazons, but I felt like being a little wild tonight. Well, wilder than usual.

Jasper raised an eyebrow, intrigued, and took my hand to lead me away from the house. Just as we started off, the back door opened and Kate slipped outside, followed by Garrett. As before, they walked together across the lodge's grounds and out toward the forest, talking quietly. Something about their manner, maybe the way they held each other's gaze a little longer than usual, told me their relationship was developing. "Garrett and Kate are taking to the forest, too."

"Yes, well, they don't have much privacy at the house. Kate's sharing a room with her sisters."

"Do they _need_ privacy?" I asked. None of my business, really, but who doesn't love a blossoming romance?

He hesitated. "No, not really. Not y_et._ But they like to have time alone, to talk."

"Is Kate…?" I hesitated to put the question into words. "Is she taking this seriously?" What I meant was, is this like another one of her human conquests? Garrett seemed genuinely smitten, and I didn't like the idea of his being seduced and kicked to the curb, along with countless human males.

Jasper seemed to understand. "It's not business as usual for Kate, no. She admires Garrett very much, and she's growing very attached to him. But she feels some resistance to the idea of committing herself."

"Yes, she's talked about that. Her history makes it difficult."

"Understandable, I suppose." We'd reached a rocky cliff, and stopped to admire the view.

"I'm glad I had no history, when I met you," I said. More literally than was usually possible. I was not only without a romantic past, I had no conscious memory of ever so much as looking at another man. Jasper was my first conscious thought.

He kissed me. "I wish I could erase mine, and have you be the first thing I can remember seeing."

"I don't know if I'd want that," I said thoughtfully.

"No?"

"Maybe the things you went through helped to make you who you are. I wouldn't want that to change." I stroked his face, relishing the look of pleasure as he experienced both his own reaction to the contact, and mine.

"If those events brought me to you, I'm content."

"Are you happy here, Jazz?" I asked. He looked puzzled. "Not here in Bolivia. I mean, here with the Cullens. I know you joined their family because of me."

"Mostly I did, and that's a good enough reason," he said firmly. "But yes, I'm as happy as I can imagine being. It took me some time to feel like part of the family. I was less skilled at abstaining than the others; I had a harsher history than most of them. I didn't feel like part of them." I didn't contradict him. "But that has been changing for some time. I have friendships that I could never have imagined before. It really is true, isn't it, that human blood keeps us from forming close bonds?"

"I think it must be," I said. "That's what Carlisle thinks, anyway."

"I'm inclined to agree. Peter and Charlotte were my closest companions for years, but I never became as attached to them as I am to my Cullen brothers. And…if, years ago, someone had described the way Carlisle and Esme were regarded as father and mother, all but literally, by this family, I would have found it laughable. But it's not. This truly is a family, and I've found my place in it."

I nodded. "I know you'd stay in any case, for my sake; but I'm happy it's not _only_ for my sake."

"Having EJ join the family helps. It's amazing how she's changed the emotional climate."

I laughed. "I can imagine!"

"And…you might be glad to know that I've come to feel very brotherly to your best friend."

"I could tell you'd gotten to like her! Yes, that's wonderful. She always liked _you_, you know."

"Yes, I _do_ know," he said, and I giggled. "It was difficult, of course, before the change. Especially after I…" I squeezed his hand sympathetically. Jasper had never completely forgiven himself for attacking Bella. "But now, she's easy to be around. Not just because I don't want her blood any more; she's so perpetually happy! I love her climate."

"I hope you like her for more than her climate!"

"Of course. Now that I have the chance to know her better, I can see why you liked her so well to begin with. I said, long ago, that she would be an asset to the family, and I see that she is. It's a pleasure to regard her as a sister. She adds to everyone's happiness, not just Edward's."

"High praise! Well, I couldn't be happier. I always wanted you two to be friends."

"Such good friends that we argue almost daily."

I laughed. "You both seem to enjoy the arguments."

"Yes." He kissed me again, and we discontinued our conversation.

"Don't tear my clothes," I whispered to him a little later. "We have to wear them home again."

"I was going to give you the same warning," he murmured into my hair. I realized I was exerting far too much pressure on his shirt front.

"Sorry." With agonizingly slow care, we removed each other's clothing and laid it safely aside, before sinking down together on the clifftop, completely alone together in the rich, fragrant darkness.

We returned to the house before any of the others had come downstairs, which means we avoided the inevitable teasing from Emmett. Not that there was anything objectionable about running off for some wilderness love - we all did it occasionally - but Emmett took any opportunity to make fun. When couples started turning up, Jasper was on the computer, adding the vital records of imaginary people into the appropriate government databases. A handy skill, in our circumstances. I sat down with my little sketchbook and started planning EJ's wardrobe for the coming months. I threw in a sketch for a dress I was hoping Bella would wear at a concert I saw Edward planning to take her to. It was daringly low cut, by Bella standards, but perfect for her, form fitting and off the shoulders. I saw Edward cancel the concert plans at the last minute and stay home with Bella instead, and adjusted the neckline a little higher, snickering to myself. Bella had certainly made some changes in our puritanical Edward.

Garrett and Kate had been sitting together on the roof of the tool shed when we got back, and after a few minutes they strolled in. "Nobody else up for the day yet?" Kate asked casually.

"Not yet," Jasper said, without even a trace of a smirk.

The others began appearing, two by two, shortly after that. "I'm going to take a run through more of the forest, and see if I can locate the male hybrid Zafrina told us about," Carlisle said. "Would anyone like to join me?" A few did.

"We're going hunting," Garrett said, nodding toward Kate. "Kate's convinced me to give it a second try."

"This could be interesting," Emmett remarked. "Would you mind some company?"

"Anyone is welcome to come along, if they like," Garrett said, "but don't expect much. I'm trying deer this time."

"I'm sure you're equal to the challenge," Kate told him. They grinned at each other.

Jazz and I went along for the ride, along with Rose and Emmett and all of the Denalis. Garrett didn't seem in the least put off by a crowd of spectators. He and Kate ran together, joking and laughing, and sometimes racing each other from one point to another. We all stopped in unison when a passing breeze brought us the scent of a nearby herd of deer. We let Garrett lead the way. He hesitated a moment, taking in the scent.

"Want me to go first?" Kate teased.

"I'm perfectly capable, thank you," he said with mock dignity. "I'm just trying to adjust to the smell. Does this really become appealing to you eventually?" he asked the group at large.

"Like you said before, it's adequate," Jasper said. "It does become more acceptable with time."

He nodded, inhaled one last time, and took off, running smoothly through the trees. Kate followed closely behind him, and the rest of us trailed after. I caught up with Garrett just as he downed a large buck and began to drink. Kate took a second one, and Jasper, made thirsty by the sight, caught a third. The rest of the herd galloped off.

When Garrett straightened up and let the dead buck drop to the ground, we cheered him heartily. "You're a sport, Garrett!" Emmett called out.

"And fearless in the face of the unknown," I said.

"Unknown and unappetizing," Jasper added, coming back to my side, wiping his mouth.

Garrett bowed formally, like a stage performer, and Kate laughed. "Thank you," he said. "Your applause is my best reward. In fact, it's my only reward."

"Come on, it's not _that _bad," Tanya insisted.

"Honestly," Garrett said, "it's fairly bad; but I can see how you might get used to it. Especially if you have no other resource."

"How long do you think you could keep it up?" Emmett asked.

Garrett narrowed his eyes. "Is that a challenge?"

"Let's say it is. Think you could manage a month?"

"Easily."

"Oh, really? How about six months?"

"Don't bite off more than you can chew," Jasper warned, "figuratively speaking."

"Don't worry about me," Garrett said. "If you can manage this thing permanently, I can certainly handle six months. It might be interesting," he mused, "to see what the experience is like over a longer period."

"Since you've hunted only animals from the time we left Virginia," Rosalie said, "it seems only fair to start counting from that point."

"Don't give him any handicaps!" Emmett protested.

"No, she's right," Jasper said. "He's been a vegetarian since we began the trip. Count from then." In the end, Emmett agreed. Feeling energized and happy, we all took a long detour through the forest before returning to the lodge.

"And don't forget," Kate told Garrett as they ran, "I'll be around to make sure you stick to the bargain."

"Will you?" he said, smiling over at her. "I was hoping you would." She fell quiet then, but not as if his comment made her uncomfortable. She was smiling to herself.

Zafrina, Kachiri, and Senna visited us again in a few days, reporting that they hadn't seen the half-human son but had caught what they thought was his scent, about two days old, near the ocean. Zafrina described the spot to Carlisle, and he thanked her. The Amazons stayed briefly to admire EJ before moving on. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper and Emmett went to the site. Apparently it was quite easy to identify the stranger's scent: it had the same basic dual nature as EJ's, the appeal of human blood offset by the vampire essence. His trail was paired with that of a vampire, probably the female he traveled with. They tried to track him, but found the trail had disappeared into the ocean and could not be picked up elsewhere.

That night, after EJ was asleep in Rosalie's arms, Carlisle and Esme left us behind to go for a swim in the ocean. I was about to suggest Jasper and I join them, but Edward caught my eye and shook his head. "They won't be back tonight," he explained after they'd run off. "They're swimming to the island."

"Oh, the famous island!" I said. "I might have guessed they'd want to go back while we were down here."

"What island is this?" Tanya asked.

"Isle Esme," Edward said. "It's a very small island about sixty miles east of Rio. Carlisle bought it as a tenth anniversary present for Esme. They occasionally take a short vacation there."

"That's so romantic!" Irina said. "A tropical island all to themselves."

"And a chance to go out in the sunlight freely," Rosalie pointed out.

Carlisle and Esme didn't come back the next morning after all, or the following night, but arrived just after dawn the morning after that. "I was starting to wonder if you'd ever get back!" Emmett laughed when they finally turned up. "Enjoy your second honeymoon?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Carlisle said, smiling at Esme, too complacent to be bothered by Emmett.

I think we all started to fall into vacation mode around that time. We took daily runs through the forest, trying to find traces of the elusive hybrid male, but any scent of him turned out to be old, not leading us anywhere. Apart from that, we were just enjoying ourselves, enjoying being relatively isolated from human communities, having the ocean nearby, having both families together, watching Garrett and Kate go through the painfully slow process of bonding as a couple. We were all a little more playful than usual, the couples more amorous, the time together a little bit more raucous. Even with the total lack of shopping, nightlife, and cultural events, I was enjoying Bolivia.

Jasper began reading a six hundred page history of the region he found on the lodge's public bookshelves. Kate did research for her sociology thesis, on the assumption that she'd eventually resume her college education. Bella finally settled on Spanish as the first language she'd learn, and we all helped her along, quizzing her or engaging in Spanish language conversations throughout the day, Emmett doing his best to embarrass her by teaching her Spanish profanities.

A thunderstorm took place late one night, and we found an open area where we could have a game of baseball, a better game than usual because we were playing with a nearly full team on each side. Esme rearranged the furnishings in our lodge and did some repairs and renovations, with our help. Rosalie and I started designing our family's spring wardrobe.

About once a week, we went into one of the nearby villages and bought a quantity of food appropriate for such a large group, just in case anyone noticed the lodge was occupied but not bringing in supplies. We'd purchase the least perishable items we could, and Esme would periodically box it up and leave it during the night at the doorsteps of churches, orphanages, any facility that might have a use for it.

Whatever else we might be doing, EJ's care and education was always a priority. She'd mastered basic arithmetic and could now write as well as read. Carlisle and Edward had worked out, with Bella's approval, a system of instruction that involved a short lesson on each essential subject every morning: history, geography, the sciences. Never any tests or reviews, since her memory was as perfect as ours. Esme taught her drawing, for which she seemed to have an aptitude. She was expected to spend some time each day reading, which she did very happily, as much of a bookworm as her mama. The rest of the day, she was free to do as she pleased. At least some of that time was always spent asking one of us searching questions, so her education continued even during her leisure hours.

As I said, we were all enjoying a bit of a vacation, the search for the mysterious hybrid ongoing but taking on less urgency than before. We were a little surprised, then, the day when _he_ finally found _us_.


	14. Surprise Visitors

It was mid morning, and we were all occupied with our various activities. EJ was receiving a biology lesson from Carlisle, Carmen and Eleazar were taking their turn at grocery shopping, Rose and Emmett were out hunting, and Esme, Jasper, Bella and I were doing some minor repairs on the exterior of the building. We caught the scent first, being outside, and Jasper called out to the others an instant before they arrived on the edge of the lodge's property.

The female vampire appeared first. She was petite, with a long braid down her back, wearing the usual tattered and mismatched clothes common to nomads. A second later, the hybrid came into sight. He was impossible to mistake: apart from the distinctive scent, he ran and moved almost like a vampire, but had a beating heart, a natural flush to his warm brown skin, deep cocoa-coloured eyes. He was taller than the female, slender but muscular, with the high cheekbones and aquiline nose common to the local indigenous people.

The others came out of the house to join us, stopping in surprise at the sight of the visitors. The visitors themselves stood and looked us over, caution and curiosity mixed in their expression. At last, Carlisle stepped forward and raised a hand in greeting.

"Hello. Welcome." He smiled, and after a second, the male raised a hand in return. "I'm Carlisle. This is my family."

The female's eyes moved over the group assembled on the grass, but said nothing. Her companion said, "I'm Nahuel. This is Huilen, my aunt. We heard you were looking for us." He had only the faintest of accents. "Three females told us you had come here to find someone like me."

"That is true." Carlisle smiled at him. "We've travelled a long way to find you, in fact. I'm very happy you're here. Won't you come inside?"

They both seemed a little taken aback at the idea of going indoors, but agreed. Carlisle led the way, and we all assembled in the oversized living room. Carlisle filled in the awkward silence that followed by introducing everyone. He mentioned EJ last of all, and Nahuel's eyes widened at the sight of her. "It's true, then," he said, staring at EJ intently.

"True?" Carlisle asked.

"That there is another one like me here. Like me, except…she has parents still living."

"Yes, that's true. Edward is her father, Bella her mother."

Nahuel seemed to arrive at some decision. He patted Huilen's shoulder, looking at her as if asking a favour, and she seemed to relax her defensiveness a little. He turned back to us. "May we talk?"

Talk we did, for much of that day. The other family members arrived home, were introduced, and joined in the discussion. Nahuel was open about his origins, and answered all our questions in full; and Huilen added her own recollections. She was able to give an account of how Nahuel came to be. Her beloved sister, Pire, had, as she remembered it, fallen under the spell of an 'angel,' a dark angel Huilen believed to be one of the libishomen - their word for vampire. Man or angel, Pire was so in love with the strange being that she would listen to no one, not even her sister, who warned her against him.

In time, the young woman became pregnant by her mysterious lover. We winced a little as Huilen described the effects of the pregnancy. It was much like what Bella had gone through: sickness, wasting, pain, bruising, and broken bones when the fetus moved and kicked. However, Huilen's sister survived to the end of pregnancy, if not much longer. The child was born, killing her in the process. When Huilen took the infant boy in her arms, he bit her, causing her to transform.

That part surprised us all a little. EJ was not venomous, and we'd assumed all such hybrids would be the same.

Following her sister's last request, Huilen kept the child with her, caring for him as best she could. He grew quickly, she said, and became a full grown man in only a few years.

Nahuel took up the story from there. "I have stayed with my aunt ever since that time. She kept me with her in the forest, hunting for me when I was too small to hunt for myself. She loved me for her sister's sake, and did not blame me for what I had done to her, although she hated what we had both become. She found she had to hunt, as her nature did not allow her to do otherwise; but she chose her victims carefully. She hunts humans who are dying; or who have been abandoned by their families or are without a home; or those who she has seen doing some evil act. Murderers and rapists and such, she feeds on; and I follow her example."

_The vigilante approach_, I thought in Edward's direction. _I knew you couldn't be the only one to have come up with it_. He grimaced to himself.

"It is still killing," Huilen said, "but maybe it is a little less evil. I try to do this, in memory of Pire, who was a kind and gentle person."

"And I," said Nahuel sadly, "do so in memory of the mother to whom I brought death." His eyes strayed once more to Bella. He seemed fascinated by her.

"Do you know the others of your kind?" Carlisle asked. "Zafrina told us there were three females as well."

"Yes, my half sisters, I suppose they are. I have met them." Nahuel sounded a little angry now. "After I was fully grown, their father, Joham, sought me out. He wanted me to join their coven. He told me he had made me, like my sisters, on purpose, as part of a great experiment." Now he definitely sounded bitter. "He thinks he is breeding a race of superior beings. He teaches his daughters to regard themselves as far above the humans they came from. He thinks nothing of the deaths of their mothers, of _my_ mother; they are only human, nothing of value to him. They serve their purpose, and they die. He wanted me to be part of that. I told him I would prefer to stay with my aunt." Nahuel shook his head in disgust. "I still see him occasionally, and he sometimes tries to convince me to join him, but I want nothing to do with him. No, let's leave Joham behind; ask me about something else."

"Very well," Carlisle said. "Your English is very good; how did you learn a language, in your circumstances?"

Huilen laughed, for the first time since we'd met. "Pire was a wonderful story-teller. She remembered all the legends and histories and other stories of our people, and could tell them better than almost anyone. While Nahuel was growing up, I told the stories to him, explaining about his mother's knowledge of our folklore. He learned all I could tell him, and wanted more. He listened sometimes, from a distance, to our people when they were telling stories around a campfire. He wanted to know still more; he stole books and had me teach him to read as best I could. He found a few books about our people, the Mapuche. When he could find no more, he read the histories and stories of the conquerors of Chile, the Spanish, stories both of their lives in Chile and in their homeland."

"That is admirable, and quite surprising," Carlisle remarked. "It must have been a difficult process."

"Yes; I had no one to guide me in what to read; I took what was available," Nahuel said. "Once I had read a great deal of Spanish history and folklore, I thought I would move on to the stories of other places. But those were in different languages; and so I undertook to learn Portuguese, and then English."

"Not by reading, surely?" Edward asked. "You didn't learn to speak so fluently from books alone."

Nahuel smiled at him. "No, not entirely. I also heard Portuguese spoken in Brazil. I would go near the towns and listen to people speak with each other until I could talk as well as any of them.

"In the case of English, I learned from books at first. When people began coming to Chile and to Brazil on pleasure trips to the ocean, from America and from England and other places, I would listen to them as well. Eventually I was able to speak all three languages, as well as the language of our own people, and I know many of the stories of their homelands."

"Remarkable," Jasper said.

Nahuel shrugged. "It is a small thing I do to honour my late mother, who loved learning."

"And because he was learning these things," Huilen said, "I learned them as well; and so I can speak to you now in your own language."

"May I ask some questions of you, as well?" Nahuel asked, looking at Carlisle.

"Of course."

"How did this child's mother survive?" He glanced quickly around, as if afraid he'd given offence.

Again, we explained the steps we'd taken to keep Bella safe while allowing her baby to live, and how she had been transformed after the birth. Nahuel looked at Edward. "And you, you wanted the mother - wanted Bella to survive?"

"Yes," Edward said, looking surprised. "I was terrified she would die before we could intervene. I didn't want to take such chances with her life, but Bella insisted on giving our child a chance to live."

Nahuel's eyes went from Edward to Bella, with an expression I couldn't read. Finally, his gaze rested on EJ, who looked calmly back at him. "You are very fortunate," he told her. "Having both parents alive, and being welcomed by them in this way."

"I know," EJ said. "I'm sorry your mama died."

"Thank you."

"She _did_ welcome you," Bella put in suddenly. Nahuel looked at her in surprise. "Even if she was scared. She loved you enough to risk death for you. She knew you didn't mean to hurt her." She became embarrassed as she noticed all of us watching her, but drove on. "I know she felt that way, because…well, because_ I _did."

Nahuel seemed too overcome to speak, and Huilen carried on the conversation on his behalf.

The pair stayed on through the day, sometimes asking or answering questions, sometimes chatting about random topics with one family member or another. He and Huilen both seemed fascinated by our human-like, 'indoor' way of life, and asked endless questions about our existence back home.

After hearing about Nahuel's thirst for information, Carlisle made a point of offering to lend him some of the books in the lodge's guest library. Nahuel seemed delighted, but would only agree to borrow one book, and accept another when the first had been returned.

"I hope that means you will visit us often," Carlisle told him.

"Yes, if I may."

When EJ started to yawn and Bella proposed putting her to bed, Nahuel and Huilen politely took their leave, first asking permission to come again the following day. He made a particular point of speaking to EJ first, wishing her a good night and saying he was particularly glad to have met her. Esme showed them to the door, a formality that seemed to bemuse them slightly, and they waved to us and ran off to the northwest.

"Well, that was interesting," Tanya remarked. "I have to admit, when we started out on this trip, I didn't really expect to find reliable information on hybrids, much less meet one in person."

"It goes well beyond my expectations," Carlisle agreed.

"Interesting, their approach to hunting," Emmett remarked, looking sidewise at Edward. "Target the bad guys." Edward shrugged uncomfortably. It wasn't a stage of his life that he was proud of.

"The hybrid was interesting all around," Irina said. "His human qualities blend with his vampiric ones so perfectly. I think Zafrina was right about their magical appeal. He has the same kind of subtle charm as our little Elizabeth."

"Do you think so?" Tanya asked.

"Oh, yes. He's almost as beautiful as any vampire, but with that human warmth - not literal warmth, but - _you_ know what I mean," she said, turning to address her sisters.

"I know exactly what you mean." Tanya smiled a little to herself.

"Why did he keep staring at Bella like that?" I asked. It had been a tad intense.

"I was wondering that, too," Bella said. "Especially after I talked about his mother. I was thinking I'd hurt his feelings."

"No, love," Edward told her. "He couldn't help comparing you, and your situation, with that of his own mother."

"Oh!" Bella looked worried. "Does it upset him?"

"No, he wasn't upset, exactly. It just makes him think of himself in a different way. He recognizes that he could be like EJ, if he had been born in different circumstances. Not a monster, evil by nature, but someone who has the capacity for good, given the opportunity. I think it was the first time he'd spoken of his mother without a crushing burden of guilt."

"Poor boy," Bella murmured.

_Bella has a knack for making people revise their view of themselves, doesn't she?_ I thought, and Edward smiled at me and nodded. She'd done that for Edward, certainly, and to some extent for Jasper and Rosalie, in different ways.

True to his word, Nahuel turned up the following day, quite early. His aunt accompanied him, but while Nahuel was quickly becoming more at ease with the family, Huilen remained slightly aloof. He'd brought along his borrowed book, having run into some difficulty with a confusing chapter, and Carlisle sat down with him to work it out. I overheard part of their conversation.

"The same happened to me; to my mother," Carlisle said.

Nahuel looked startled. "The same? But you were..."

"I was human, yes; but my mother died giving birth to me. I was born in the seventeenth century; it was not that uncommon."

There was a long silence, then Nahuel said, "But that was not your fault."

"No, of course not. No more than Pire's death was your fault."

There was another pause, before Nahuel returned to the discussion of his book. When Bella and Edward came downstairs with EJ, he rose with a smile to speak to them.

EJ seemed very pleased with her new friends, and silently asked Edward, apparently, if she could speak to them with her pictures. "Let me explain to them first," he told her. Nahuel looked at him enquiringly. "EJ wants to speak with you in a special way she has."

"Speak?" Nahuel asked. Huilen approached to stand beside him, and he explained EJ's gift.

"I thought I should warn you first," Edward said. "It is a little startling the first time."

"I see. You want to speak to me, little one?" Nahuel asked EJ, who smiled and reached to take his hand and Huilen's

"She has to be in physical contact with you," Edward explained. They linked hands with EJ. A moment later, their shocked expressions told us EJ was communicating with them. After a minute, she released their hands and smiled at them.

"That is incredible," Huilen said, as everybody always did.

"Those were her own thoughts?" Nahuel asked.

"Yes. She is able to transmit her thoughts to others."

"An amazing ability," Nahuel agreed. "Thank you," he said to EJ.

"What was she saying?" Bella asked.

Edward said, "She showed them yesterday's meeting from her perspective; and she told them how happy she was to find she wasn't the only one of her kind in the world. Evidently it had been worrying her a little."

Nahuel returned to his book discussion with Carlisle. Huilen seemed a little at loose ends for a while, until Jasper struck up a conversation about the plant and animal life in Chile, and how the Chilean wilderness differed from the Brazilian rainforest. The rest of us went about our usual business.

I did a quick scan of the immediate future - images of us travelling back to New Hampshire were still blurry, but a little clearer than before - and set to work on an outfit I'd designed and was making with hand woven fabric Esme had picked up at a street market. I noticed that Nahuel continued to watch Bella with as much fascination as before, but it didn't seem creepy now that I knew the reason. I also noticed that Irina was watching Nahuel with almost as much interest. After a while, she casually moved over to the bookshelves, next to where Nahuel and Carlisle were still talking.

I caught Edward's eye. _Watch out, Nahuel!_ I thought._ Irina's got you targeted!_ And once that happens, as we all knew, it was only a matter of time. Well, in _almost _all cases. Edward didn't seem to agree; he gave a slight shrug. So Nahuel wasn't Irina's next conquest? Maybe she had other plans for him. I tried to look ahead, but Nahuel's involvement, like EJ's, blocked it all out. All I could do was wait and see, like the common rabble. Edward snickered, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

Nahuel visited every day, sometimes with his aunt and sometimes alone, and became a comfortable fixture in the family. One cloudy day, a few of us took EJ to the nearby lake to swim. There was seldom anyone there, since it wasn't exactly the kind of beach people flock to, but we had to be cautious. Nahuel asked if he could go along, and we spent a riotous couple of hours in the water, Nahuel obligingly tossing EJ into the water or acting as a diving platform for her amusement.

When EJ indicated she was hungry, we left the lake and Rosalie offered to help her hunt. "May I come with you?" Nahuel asked.

Rosalie looked at Bella and Edward, who seemed to have no objection. "You realize she'll be hunting animals, right?" Rosalie warned.

"I do. I would be…interested to see this. I have never heard of such a thing before meeting all of you."

"Maybe I'll come along too," Irina said, shaking out her wet hair. The four of them ran off, keeping a moderate pace for EJ's sake, and vanished into the national park.

Emmett, Bella and Edward stayed at the lake to finish a game Emmett called water tag, which was actually little more than chasing each other around and tossing each other to the far end of the lake. Jasper and I started back toward the house together. "Are you sure there's nothing going on between Irina and Nahuel?" I asked him. "She seems to go out of her way to be around him, and she watches him all the time."

"Actually, I'm _not_ sure," he said slowly. "Irina's feelings are…unresolved. She's not consciously pursuing Nahuel, but she's very attracted to him, and finds him fascinating. It could develop into something more, I suppose, but Nahuel would have to return her feelings first."

"And he doesn't?"

"He finds her beautiful, but right now he's so overwhelmed, he's not able to focus on Irina. All the new information he's taken in, and the feelings associated with it, are probably a lot to deal with."

We got wind of a Bolivian national holiday, La Fiesta de la Candelaria, one which apparently involved parades, music and dancing in the streets, and huge, public costume parties. My kind of fiesta.

We all went into town to enjoy the public hoopla, then observed the event with our own party at home. We put together makeshift costumes from fabric scraps and items we'd bought in the market. EJ decided to mark the occasion by giving each of us a miniature drawing of hers, beautiful little 1X1 inch pencil sketches of ferns, birds, seashells and such. She was very talented artistically, as in other ways. Mine was a picture of a kantuta blossom. When Nahuel came to visit, Carlisle presented him with a hardbound book of European fairy tales which had been left on the lodge's shelves - and so was technically ours. "So you can expand your knowledge of folklore and stories," Carlisle told him. Nahuel seemed deeply moved by the gesture.

Jasper took out the only musical instrument we had down here, an old guitar left in the lodge's public room, and we sang together. We ranged from folk songs to old jazz tunes, and after Jasper threw in an old song in Spanish, Nahuel joined in on the chorus. Huilen arrived at that point, and the two of them were persuaded to sing something from their Mapuche roots. It didn't sound particularly melodious to me, but I suppose you need to have developed an ear for Mapuche music.

We took a break in the festivities by running to the lake for a quick swim, then came back and sang some more. As evening fell, we lapsed into conversation and jokes. EJ fell asleep on her mother's lap, listening quietly to us.

At midnight, we started to hear faint sounds of fireworks going off in the distance. "We should've got some fireworks," Emmett remarked.

I grinned at him. "I knew you were going to say that."

"If you knew it, why didn't you do something about it?"

I ran to a broom closet off the kitchen, returning with a shoebox full of firecrackers - none that would pass safety regulations back in the States. Emmett laughed, and that woke up EJ, so Bella carried her outside to watch as well. We moved a distance from the house and Emmett and I began taking turns, lighting the fuse on a firecracker and tossing it high in the air, so that they went off in steady succession. We all cheered as the last one exploded with a particularly loud bang, and EJ clapped her hands, delighted.

Nahuel and Huilen prepared to leave at that point, thanking us for letting them share our celebration. "It has been a long time," Nahuel said.

With some hesitation, Esme offered to let them stay on. "You're both more than welcome. Nahuel could sleep in a guest room or on the sofa."

They looked at each other, and Nahuel, I thought, seemed to perceive a little hesitation in his aunt's eyes. "Thank you. That is very kind," he said. "Perhaps another time."

"Of course." Esme smiled at them and waved at them from the front door as they left. "_Felices fiestas!_"

We all talked a few minutes and tidied the room before pairing up and disappearing into our respective bedrooms for the night. Just before Jazz and I went upstairs, I noticed Garrett and Kate, hand in hand, slipping outside for their usual nighttime walk. Without really meaning to, I glanced ahead at their immediate future, and stopped short a moment, wondering if it would be appropriate to give Kate some warning. Then I looked further ahead, and saw that it would be all right in the end.

"Everything all right, darlin'?" Jasper asked.

"Yes," I said, "it'll be fine."

The next two weeks or so involved a little personal conflict. First, Nahuel began visiting alone instead of with Huilen; and when she did accompany him, she would often begin hinting that they should leave after only an hour or two.

"She's jealous," Jasper explained to all of us, when the visitors were out of the house, "and a little afraid. I can't say why, exactly." He looked pointedly at Edward.

"She's afraid of losing him. They've been each other's only companion for a long time, but now he's not only made new friends, he's found someone exactly like him. His horizons are expanding, and she fears he might abandon her, or find her inadequate. She thinks we're going to take him back with us, and leave her behind."

"I see. That's unfortunate," Carlisle said. "Is there any way we can ease her mind? Show her that her fears are unfounded?"

"Are we entirely certain her fears _are_ unfounded?" Jasper asked.

There was a silence. "No, I don't suppose we are," Carlisle said. "Nahuel does seem to appreciate the opportunity to form new friendships and, as Edward says, expand his horizons. It is not impossible that he will want to change the way he lives. He may even ask to accompany us when we leave."

"In that case," Esme said, "it would not be right to reassure Huilen when her concerns are perfectly valid."

"Neither would it be right to refuse Nahuel the opportunity to live a different life, if that is what he wants," Jasper said. He knew a little something about that.

"No," Carlisle agreed thoughtfully. "Perhaps one of us should speak with Nahuel privately. He should at least be aware of his aunt's concerns."

"He is aware of them," Edward said. "They've argued about it before now."

"Ah. Then it is between the two of them."

"I hope they can resolve things without…well, without Nahuel having to give up too much," Esme said.

It was my hope as well. Sad as it was to think of poor Huilen, being left behind by her only family, the boy she'd saved - and of Nahuel losing her as well - it was hard to accept that Nahuel should have to ignore the new possibilities our presence had opened up for him, and go back to running the forest with his aunt. I realized everyone was looking at me. "Sorry, I come up empty. You know I can't see hybrids." I could catch glimpses of Huilen's future sometimes, but she was still so tied to Nahuel it was impossible to see anything clearly.

During the same period, we had a rather nasty little spat take place between Kate and Garrett as well. Kate returned from their nightly run in the forest alone, looking distraught, and kept to herself all day, barely speaking even to her sisters. Nobody asked where Garrett was. He didn't turn up until well into the following night. Jasper and I were in our room but not…occupied, at that precise moment, so we stood still and listened. I could hear Kate greet him at the door, but he only mumbled a reply and ran up the stairs to his own room. I heard him rummaging around in there. Packing, maybe? That would be a bad sign.

Kate followed him a minute later. "Garrett," I heard her say quietly, "won't you please talk to me?"

"I have to think," he said shortly.

There was a silence, during which I assume Kate stood there making Bambi eyes at him, because he finally left off rummaging, sighed, and said, "All right. Not here, though." I heard them descend the stairs, together this time, and leave out the back door. I peeked out the bedroom window in time to see them flash off into the distance. Not holding hands this time, but together.

"What on earth happened?" I wondered aloud.

"I don't know for certain, of course," Jasper said, "but judging from Garrett's reaction, I'd guess Kate just told him the story of her life."

"Her life? Oh, that." Yes, it seemed probable. Garrett would certainly know that a centuries-old vampire like Kate had a past, but the systematic seduction and discarding of human men in the quadruple digits might give him pause. It dispelled that aura of starry-eyed romance a little bit.

I glanced ahead about twenty-four hours. "No clear outcome yet."

"No, I would imagine not. It will depend on how tonight's conversation goes."

I sighed. "Well, I wish them luck."

In fact, we never did find out how that particular conversation went. Garrett returned to the house in the morning, solemn and subdued but not actually angry. He and Kate rarely spoke; she seemed to be giving him space. They were almost never seen together for days on end, a huge change from the past months. If Garrett was thinking things over, he was taking his sweet time about it.

Then one night, just as we were all retiring for the night, I saw Garrett hold out a hand to Kate, inviting her to join him for a run outside. It was kind of sad how relieved and hopeful she looked as she followed him out the back door.

Tanya grimaced after them. "She's changed so much," she said, as if to herself.

"Kate?" Esme said.

"Yes. She was the most independent of any of us, and now look at her. Tagging after him like a puppy."

"I wouldn't say she was acting like a puppy," Esme said. "She's just in love. And it seems that it's mutual."

"Yes, I know. Don't mind me," Tanya laughed. "I'm afraid I may be losing one of my sisters."

"Losing her?"

"Well, that's what it feels like. We'll still be sisters, of course, but her real attachment will be to her mate. I don't begrudge her that," she added hastily, "not for an instant! I love Katrina, and I want her to be happy. Still, the experience is a little bittersweet, you understand."

"Of course, Tanya, dear," Esme said. "It's only natural to be a little mournful, when you've been together such a very long time."

"Tanya's not going to get between Garrett and Kate, is she?" I asked Edward, the first time I had him alone. Their future was brightening up, and I didn't want any new clouds appearing on the horizon.

"No, she has no plans of that kind."

"I thought she'd be happier for them."

He smiled. "Don't hold it against her. I can understand feeling divided in cases like this." I remembered that Edward had once had the experience of seeing his sole earthly companion find true love, while he remained single, and expected to stay that way forever. "Besides, there's more to it. Tanya genuinely believed in the way of life she and her sisters had chosen. She felt it gave them both independence and a closer bond among the three of them. She's disappointed to see Kate abandon it."

"Hm. Hence the 'puppy dog' remark."

"Exactly. I suppose maintaining one's independence from men must seem like a valuable thing to someone with Tanya's background."

"Her background?"

"She's talked about it before; just not very specifically. Women were at the mercy of the men in their lives, or so Tanya perceived it. Love and marriage were equal parts shelter and bondage. I believe there was even some threat of a forced marriage, when Tanya was young. Even now, when there's no danger of being dominated, she feels the effects of her early life."

"Okay, that makes sense. But I hope she gets over it in time for the wedding."

He grinned at me. "The wedding is by no means a _fait accompli_. The couple have to work out their differences first."

"They will," I said confidently.

"Nice not to be part of the common rabble again, isn't it?" he teased.

Bella approached, holding EJ by the hand. "We're taking a break from lessons, and she wants to talk to her papa."

"What is it, sweetheart?" Edward scooped her up into his arms, and she touched him. "Oh! Well, not until we go back. She wants to know when I'll play the piano for her again," he explained. "There's no piano at this house, you see." EJ nodded and slipped to the ground, waving to us as she followed Bella back to the house.

It was a good question: when were we going back? I brought it up at a carefully chosen time, when nobody was near who might find it an uncomfortable question, like Nahuel and Huilen, Kate and Garrett, or even EJ. Carlisle responded by looking around at the rest of us. "Any thoughts?"

"I'm reluctant to leave before things are resolved with Nahuel," Edward said. "He may consider accompanying us when we leave."

Carlisle nodded. "But he may need to work things out with Huilen, and even give it more thought himself, before he can make that decision. I'd hate to rush him."

"And things are so…tenuous right now, between some of us," Esme said, deliberately vague but clear to all of us.

"There's no reason we can't stay on, for now" Carlisle said. "I'll leave it to the family to speak up if they feel it's time to return."

Garrett and Kate walked together in the forest again that night. The next morning, without a word of explanation, Kate removed her few belongings from the room she had shared with Tanya and Irina, and moved them into the small loft room Garrett had been using. When night came and the couples were retiring as usual, she and Garrett said goodnight and went upstairs together to Garrett's bedroom. They didn't mention the change, and nobody asked them about it. It was clear enough.

One blossoming romance salvaged.


	15. The Soap Opera Continues

According to Jasper, Huilen's conflicted feelings over Nahuel were similar to Tanya's over Kate. Both simultaneously wanted the best for a person they loved, and realized that what was best might include losing the bond they'd shared for a very long time.

Being basically good, loving, unselfish people, they managed to get over it, for the most part. Tanya stopped brooding over Kate's defection about twelve hours after the door to Garrett's bedroom closed on the two of them that night. From that point on, she was the relationship's biggest booster. If she had mixed feelings, nobody - except possibly Jasper - would suspect.

Huilen played the passive aggressive game a little longer, and when she began to suspect Irina was trying to make time with her nephew, she became quite unpleasant for a while. It was Tanya who made her rethink her approach.

We were together, most of us, in the big common room late one afternoon, talking, reading, sewing, or playing chess. Kate and Garrett were out hunting, and Nahuel had gone with Edward and Bella to take EJ to the lake once more. Tanya was in a corner of the room near the bookshelves when Huilen wandered over and began scanning the titles.

"Your Nahuel is an avid reader," Tanya commented pleasantly.

"Yes, he has always liked to read when he can," Huilen said. "That is not often. It is nice he has these books to borrow now." She took down a slim volume on the ecology of the rainforest and began to look through it.

"Carlisle is our family's great reader. He's always happy to share."

Huilen gave her an odd look. "He must be a very learned man."

"I suppose he is. He's read and studied, both informally and through university programmes, for many years now."

"Nahuel would be a scholar, too, I think," Huilen mused, "if he was able to live like you. It is not possible, though, living in the forest." Tanya didn't reply. "How long have all of you been together? If I may ask."

"Of course. My sisters and I have been together almost a thousand years. Carmen and Eleazar joined us about one hundred fifty years ago. As for Carlisle's family, he was alone for centuries. He found Edward in the early twentieth century and took him as a companion; then Esme a few years later. Four more joined them over the course of the next thirty years, and Bella has been part of the family only a short while. Then there's the baby, of course."

"Yes, the baby. It meant so much to Nahuel to know her. Someone who is like him, but not one of Joham's children."

"Joham was the…?"

"The scientist, yes." Her contempt was obvious.

"I'm glad we came here, then. I think it was good for our little girl as well, to meet someone like herself." Huilen nodded absently. "Good things have come from this trip. We met both of you; and we met Garrett."

"Garrett is a...close friend to your sister now, no?"

Tanya laughed. "They're 'close friends' now, yes. It's wonderful, but surprising. She's been single for ages. Well, they both have." Tanya glanced at Huilen. "It's not always easy, finding a mate. There are so few of us to begin with, even fewer who are single and available. Some of us never find love, and others spend centuries alone." She sighed.

Huilen seemed very much struck by this observation. "Yes, nobody would wish that…"

"Kate being together with Garrett will change our family fairly drastically," Tanya went on. "The three of us have been a team, all on our own, practically our whole lives. I have to admit, it was a shock to think it wasn't going to be that way any more. But how can I stand in the way of her happiness? She's my sister. I just have to adapt."

Huilen nodded, frowning down at the pages of her book. The conversation drifted after that, but I think Tanya's none too subtle message had hit the mark.

Huilen didn't come with Nahuel on his next two visits. Irina, who had mostly been admiring Nahuel from a slight distance, finally made her move. Well, kind of a move. She joined in on a conversation Nahuel was having with Carlisle, about folklore and mythology around the world, and soon the two of them were comparing notes between Machupe and Chilean folk stories and those of Eastern Europe. Irina was a very animated storyteller, and she drew some very comical parallels between her culture's folk tales and Nahuel's; we'd never heard him laugh so much before. Irina had found a way into more familiarity with Nahuel, at least, and I was curious to see where things would go from there. Irina's long experience at charming men made her a formidable assailant, to say the least.

The next day, when Huilen came along with Nahuel on his daily visit, he found her nephew and Irina getting quite chummy, settled in a corner and talking with great animation. The look of determined tolerance on her face was almost funny, it was so melodramatic; but it was clearly also sincere. She was perfectly pleasant to all, and made no attempt to interrupt Irina's and Nahuel's intimate conversation. She had no wish to see her nephew remain a bachelor for the next millennium, and that's where he was more or less headed before we showed up.

Jasper made a point of talking to Huilen or involving her in our activities as much as possible. I assumed he read her emotions, and approved of them, or at least wanted to support her during her struggle. It was just like him to take the trouble.

The very next cloudy day, I finally convinced Bella to leave EJ behind a little while and come with me and Jazz to the village. It was a small village with a minimal marketplace, but they did sell bolts of cloth, and EJ was in dire need of new clothes. "Anyone else want to come along?" I asked.

To my surprise, Irina turned to Nahuel. "Would you like to go and look around?"

"Me?" He seemed shocked. "I haven't really gone among humans, not openly, I mean. What if…?"

"It's fine, if you don't feel up to it."

"I just don't know. How do you walk among them, live close to them, smell them all around you, and yet leave them alone?" he asked, suddenly intense.

"It's a matter of practice. After a certain length of time, it becomes quite easy."

He seemed to consider. "Maybe we could go near the village. Not too close at first, until I am sure I can manage it."

"That would be fine with me," Irina agreed.

Huilen watched them sadly as they walked out the front door together, just in front of Bella and me.

We left Nahuel and Irina behind in the forest some distance from the village. "How's he doing?" I asked Jasper once we were out of earshot.

"Pretty good. He's more worried than he probably needs to be. His control seems fine."

I led the way to the stalls containing fabric. "What about this one?" I asked Bella, more out of politeness than anything else. I already knew what I was buying. "Wouldn't it make a great dress for EJ?"

"Sure."

I had the lady cut two yards, and two more of a red and white print cotton. "And I'm thinking I'll use this one to make something for you." I held up a length of beautiful hand-woven cloth.

"I shouldn't get too many new clothes," Bella objected. "I won't be able to fit them in my backpack when we go home."

I shook my head at the feeble excuse. "It doesn't matter. Leave something behind that you don't like. Or only wear it while we're here, then give it away."

"What's the point?"

"The _point _is, you have something fun and beautiful to wear, even if it's only for a few weeks." I sighed. "I don't get you sometimes, Bella. You have no trouble appreciating beauty for its own sake in any other area of life. Why draw the line at your clothing?"

"Well…I never thought of it that way."

"Maybe you should consider it." I bought the cotton fabric for EJ, the colourful woven fabric for Bella - I saw it as a tailored, short sleeved jacket - and some broadcloth in several colours to replace the badly torn shirts of various family members. Between the hunting, the rough sports, and the occasional over-eager sexual partner, our life was hard on shirts.

As I was paying for the purchases, Irina and Nahuel began to approach. "Decided to join us after all?" I asked casually. Nahuel just nodded, appearing to concentrate. I looked at Jazz, silently asking him to help all he could, and he gave me the faintest of nods. Nahuel gradually relaxed and seemed able to take in the sights and sounds of the market.

"This is quite amazing," he said in an undertone, too low for humans to pick up. "I have never been through a village like this, except late at night when no one was about. It is so strange to just be like one of them."

"It is a little strange," Jasper agreed, "but it's more common than you might think. You live in an isolated area. Many of us travel through large cities, and they pass as human, when they are not hunting."

"And those of you who never hunt humans - you live in peace with them all the time," he murmured, as if to himself. "Is it not incredibly difficult? Garrett has said he finds it hard to sustain."

"Garrett is new to this way of life," Irina said. "It gets easier with time. Believe me; I've done this for many centuries."

As requested by Esme, I purchased some pointless foodstuffs from the most destitute-looking vendor, keeping the image up. Irina and Nahuel drifted gradually away from us, as Nahuel enjoyed the novelty of being an ordinary shopper in a crowd of humans. I noticed that she took Nahuel's hand to get his attention when pointing something out to him, and did not let go again afterward. He didn't seem to mind.

"Are they, like, a couple now?" Bella whispered to me.

I laughed. "It's funny how you have so much insight into difficult things, but often miss the obvious."

"It wasn't obvious to me! I thought she was just being friendly to him, like the rest of us."

"To be fair, I got a lot of my intel from Jasper."

"The relationship is at a very early stage," Jasper said, "and I have no idea where it might go."

"You realize, Irina's usual approach would be to, er…" What was a polite term for it? Seduce and abandon? Romp and run?

"Oh, right." Bella looked embarrassed. "But Nahuel, he probably isn't prepared for that."

"Why?"

"He was changed in the nineteenth century, and never had any experience with, um, any of that before."

"How do you know he hasn't?" Jasper demanded.

She got that blank look again. "I'm not sure, but I _do_ know it."

"You and Alice are like the two halves of a crystal ball," Jasper laughed. "One sees the future, the other sees the present."

"Only occasionally," Bella said. "I can't see on demand like Alice can."

"You might learn to, in time," I said. "Keep working on it."

"I wouldn't worry too much about Irina," Jasper said. "Her feelings are sincere. It's quite a novelty for her, in fact; it scares her a little, but she doesn't intend anything transitory."

"Maybe Kate and Garrett provided an example, and got her going," I suggested. "Or maybe there's just something in the air down here. Not one, but two girls who've been determined spinsters for centuries, both pairing up within months of each other? What are the odds?"

"I've learned by now," Jasper said, "that odds don't apply to this family. What are the odds of so many gifted people in one household?"

I nodded. "Or of Edward meeting and marrying the one person in the world whose mind he can't read?"

"What are the odds of Carlisle finding Esme a second time?" Bella asked.

"Or, as you mentioned before, the odds of so many blondes in a random group?" Jasper laughed. "You're right: we all live in a dimension where statistics don't apply."

"Speaking of strange dimensions," I said, "that would've made a great Twilight Zone episode."

While the three of us co-wrote our imaginary TV episode, starring Sterling Hayden as the confused and frustrated mathematician, I caught Irina's scent, then Nahuel's. They were coming back from the far side of the village, still holding hands. Jasper broke off in the middle of a sentence as they came near. "What's up?" I asked.

He snorted, then recovered. "Let's just say Irina's making progress."

"With Nahuel?" Bella asked, looking over at them.

"She definitely has his attention."

"I thought she already had _that_, at least," I said.

"Yes, but he thought of her mostly as a friend, like the rest of us. Then he became attracted to her, but thought _she_ was only interested in being a friend. He's corrected that assumption; they're on the same page at this point."

"That's good," Bella said. "I think."

"Yes, it's hard to be sure, isn't it? Irina's being cautious. She…" He stopped and waited, going on when the couple turned and moved further away from us, toward the far end of the marketplace. "She's used to, er, meeting with men, mostly human men, but keeping her emotions strictly in check. It's an essential precaution, of course, when falling in love is a permanent condition. That caution has become like a reflex for her."

"And if she wasn't being careful?" I asked. "From what you're reading?"

"The'd be a couple within the month. But she has to, at the very least, be certain of Nahuel's feelings first."

"I'm not sure I know which to hope for."

"Nor do I; but if I were laying bets with Emmett - and I probably will at some point - I'd wager they'll end up together before the year is done." He grinned at me. "And that's without asking you first what _you_ see Irina doing."

"Risky, gambling without Alice's help," Bella joked.

"But I don't see Nahuel," I said, "so you can tell Emmett it's a fair fight."

I bought some extra needles and thread from a morose looking man who also sold hats and handbags, and we prepared to take our purchases back home. Nahuel said he thought they wouldn't come back with us just yet; he wanted to try being around humans a little longer. As we left, he and Irina were starting off on another stroll through the village.

At home, we divided up the fabric and the three primary dressmakers - Esme, Rosalie and I - began working on Nessie's stuff. She'd grown since we'd been here, to the point where she had only one outfit that she could even put on, and it was too small. "What is she now?" I asked as we sewed. "The size of a five or six year old?"

"Her height is about that," Carlisle said, "but her development is not consistent in all categories."

"No," Esme said. "She's as tall as a child that age, but leaner and more mature looking. Just like when she was a baby; she never had that plump baby look about her."

Rosalie nodded, smiling. "Of course, she's light years ahead in other areas."

That was true. She could read at almost an adult level, do arithmetic like a fifth grader. Her knowledge of other subjects ranged from beginning level to junior high, depending on how much time we, her live-in teachers, had spent on them. She was well beyond any human in speed or agility. She even seemed to be advanced in terms of emotional development and socialization: she felt genuine, unselfish concern for others, and could be polite and even quite gracious in almost any situation. Yet her understanding of the world still seemed childish, naive, in many ways. I mentioned all this to the others.

"I wonder if there's any area where she's developing at the same speed as a human," Esme said, "or possibly even more slowly."

"Not that I've noticed," Carlisle said. "Perhaps that's something we should ask Nahuel."

Nahuel wasn't available for comment, not for some time. He and Irina returned to the house late, after everyone was upstairs except Tanya, who was putting the finishing touches on one of EJ's new ensembles. I could hear the two of them approach the house, talking quietly and laughing together, then go through the back door. "Hi, Tanya," Irina said.

"Hello. Hi, Nahuel."

"Hello," Nahuel said, the laughter not quite gone from his voice.

"Look at the baby's clothes! So pretty."

"Well, she'd outgrown everything we brought along."

I heard Nahuel ask, "Has my aunt left?"

"Yes, she went out about an hour ago." Just over an hour, and she'd seemed less sad than before. "She wanted to take a run in the forest."

"Ah. Well, I should probably join her."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Irina asked.

"Certainly." The reply was minimal, but his voice was warm.

It sounded as if Irina walked him to the door. I heard him quickly circle the house, probably searching out Huilen's trail, then dart off to the north, toward the Brazilian border.

Irina shut the door and walked back into the house. "Can we talk?" I heard her say to Tanya.

"Of course, _najdrahsie_," Tanya replied. "Shall we take a walk outside?"

I silently wished them well.


	16. Cause for Celebration

Another national holiday was underway before we knew it, and May Day celebrations were all around us, complete with parades, street dances, demonstrations, and general whoopee. For some reason - maybe the company of such a large group, maybe the air of burgeoning romance, maybe latent pro-labour sentiments - we felt like participating more actively in the festival.

We started decorating the house and preparing to have a little dancing in the evening, after cruising the village celebrations. Then, in sheer silliness, we started expanding the occasion to include holidays we hadn't yet celebrated in Bolivia, like Christmas and New Years, and throwing in any Bolivian traditions we were aware of.

Celebrating New Years Bolivian style required, oddly enough, going lingerie shopping the day before.

According to local custom, your fortunes for the coming year are determined by what colour underwear you have on when the clock strikes midnight on January 1. I've heard of sillier things, and it's an excuse to purchase something frilly, even if we'd missed the deadline for underwear-influenced fortunes by months. After discussing the relative options of green for prosperity, pink for friendship, red for love, and so forth, we decided to wear as many different colours as possible among ourselves, giving us the best shot at having it all, if not individually, then as a group.

I foresaw both Irina and Kate buying red undies, not surprisingly.

We decorated the house _a la mode de_ Bolivia, with multi-coloured candles and thorn bushes wound around decorative greenery. The thorns, a Christmas tradition, were supposed to chase away trouble, or something like that, and ensure a peaceful family life for the coming year. It couldn't hurt. We added red and pink heart banners cut from construction paper and festooned around the doorways, and Valentine's Day was added to the mix.

We also, unintentionally, followed a couple of Festivus traditions, including the feats of strength (Emmett and Jasper in the final match of a best-three-of-five wrestling series) and the airing of grievances ("What's with all the candles? The place looks like a Wicca convention.") Other activities, like the four man juggling demonstration, were unique to our clan.

We played together through the afternoon and evening. At about eight-thirty a few of us decided to go down to La Paz and join in the celebration at the ornate bar adjoining the travel hostel, where we could dance and pretend to drink. Esme and Carlisle came along this time, as did Rose and Emmett, Carmen and Eleazar, and Tanya acting as third - or rather, ninth - wheel. The place was packed to the rafters, the crowd was young and rowdy, and the house music reasonably good. We bought and carefully discarded drinks, and joined the dancing throng, spreading out a bit in order to dilute the attention we tended to attract. Tanya obtained a dance partner by simply standing on the edge of the dance floor and swaying to the music for fourteen seconds, at which point a man appeared and offered his services. As each dance ended, another partner would appear. Fortunately, it was hot enough in the bar to offset the coldness of her skin; none of her partners seemed to notice anything unusual. Tanya seemed to be having a good time.

As the night wore on, the staff started distributing little plastic tiaras, sparkly masks, and the like - probably left over from New Year's Eve - and the party got wilder and full of alcohol-fueled camaraderie. Even the tourists began joining in the loud, public toasts to the workers of the nation. I noticed Tanya in a far corner, wearing a tiara, being kissed by a tall, lanky farm-boy type in jeans and a hemp shirt. Too casual for the occasion, but he was cute enough. We stayed another hour, joining in the increasingly drunken dancing, before Esme and Carlisle said they were going home. Rose and Emmett left a little while later. When Jazz and I decided to call it a night, I found Tanya.

"Everybody else has gone home," I told her. "You want to come back with us?"

"No," she smiled. "I think I'll stay on a while." She glanced at the hemp shirt guy, who was watching her from the bar. Say no more. Tanya was planning to celebrate the occasion with a little inter-species frolic.

"Okay, have fun then," I said. "Don't give him any idea where you're staying," I added as an afterthought. The last thing we needed was some lovestruck boy from Milwaukee hanging around the lodge with flowers and chocolates, or whatever hopeful suitors were offering these days.

She rolled her eyes. "I think I know better than that by now!"

We waved goodbye and went out the exit leading to the parking lot, pretending to return to our nonexistent car, before slipping away into the dark and running toward our temporary home. Jasper and I went through the front door and continued up the stairs without a stop, ready to close ourselves away for what was left of the night. I was eager to show him my lucky New Years undergarments.

Tanya turned up a little after sunrise, looking not only more neat and unrumpled than she should reasonably be under the circumstances, but also remarkably cheerful. She was chatty and affectionate to her sisters all morning, greeted Nahuel with unusual warmth, and suggested taking both him and Garrett into town for some new clothes.

Since we'd now accomplished everything we'd supposedly come here for, the question of leaving came up again, and again we decided to defer until things were clear between Nahuel and Irina, one way or another.

We'd fallen into a whole new routine, consisting of daily lessons and play with EJ, keeping up with our respective studies as well as we could (Bella's Spanish was improving rapidly), hunting in the vast forests, visiting the markets or going to the city for an occasional night on the town. The lodge was equipped with a DVD player, wifi, and a good stereo system, and we'd supplemented the guest library since our arrival. True, cultural amenities and shopping were more limited than back home, but we were content for now.

Garrett and Kate were as solidly bonded as anyone could hope, and there was no doubt that Garrett would be accompanying the Denalis whenever we decided to leave. He'd completed more than half of his six month challenge, and his eyes were already starting to fade from crimson to a reddish amber colour.

It looked like hunting was going to be the bone of contention for Nahuel and Irina. Huilen had indirectly declared that she couldn't give up hunting humans, that it was beyond her capability, but that Nahuel, of course, was free to act as he chose. He'd only hunted animals since our arrival, but he still seemed undecided about it. I overheard a conversation he had with EJ one morning, while she was sitting at the table, eating a human style breakfast for a change.

"How do you like that kind of food?" Nahuel asked her. She wrinkled her nose, and he laughed. "It's not my favourite, either."

Since EJ was across the table from him, out of easy reach, she spoke aloud. "Can you eat human food too?"

"Yes. We're the same, remember? We can live on either kind of food."

"I like blood better," she said decidedly.

"I do as well; but I have been thinking about eating food more often than I do."

"Why?"

"I thought getting used to hunting animals would be easier if I alternated."

"Alternated," EJ repeated, and nodded to herself. That was her peculiar way of absorbing slightly unfamiliar words. "I like eating human food sometimes, because I see humans eating that way. When we go to the market everybody is buying food. I like to…" She searched for words.

"Be a part of their lives? Feel connected to them?" Nahuel suggested, and she smiled and nodded. "It would make sense that they buy food often. Humans have to eat every day."

"Yes. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Thank you, I think I would." He helped himself to some of the fruit on the kitchen counter, and sat down across from EJ. He made a face when he bit into the first piece, and EJ laughed; but he went on gamely, and finished the fruit and a slice of bread. "Enough for now." He caught Irina's eye as she stood in the doorway watching him with a particularly soft expression, and they smiled at each other.

"I wish I could see Nahuel's future," I told Jasper later, when we were alone. "I'd love to know whether he's coming home with Irina eventually. How are they doing?" I asked. It was really none of my business, but I was concerned for both of them, along with being just plain curious.

"They're doing extremely well, from what I can perceive. Irina's trying to hold back on her immediate impulse, which is to, er…"

"Jump his bones at the first opportunity?"

"Exactly. Nahuel is a little overwhelmed with the emotions he feels toward her. Bella was right: this is all entirely new to him. It's like meeting Irina has made puberty suddenly hit him all at once, and he can hardly deal with what the school hygiene pamphlets used to call _unfamiliar new feelings_."

I laughed. "Strictly physical feelings?"

"No, not at all; he's quite infatuated with Irina on all levels; but the physical feelings are intense. It's a lot like being around Edward after he fell in love with Bella. Years and years of virtual blankness in that area, and then suddenly, I could hardly be around him for the aura of lust. Even his fear and guilt couldn't quite tamp it down. And _she_ was almost as bad."

I giggled. "Poor Edward."

"Well, Nahuel is going through much the same thing, only in slow motion."

"Why slow?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's different for a half human."

"Is Irina helping this along, then, or is she behaving herself and letting nature take its course?"

"A little of both. She _intends_ to be patient, but vamping men is second nature to her. She sees how Nahuel responds to her, and that he's uncertain, and she feels strongly driven to get him past his uncertainty. There's a lot of back and forth between them, with Nahuel almost getting up the nerve to make a move, but not quite; and Irina trying to tone down the succubus habits, and not entirely succeeding. They're sort of relentlessly teasing each other, sexually, without ever doing anything more than holding hands. It's difficult to be near them sometimes."

"That's why you're so insatiable lately?" I asked, grinning at him.

He laughed. "That's one reason, I suppose. Although the main reason, as always, is you."

I kissed him warmly. "It's not like I need reassurance."

"Good," he said softly.

"And I suspect they've started doing more than holding hands," I said. "When they come back from a walk together, they stop at the edge of the property and kiss a while before going to the house. I've seen them. With my eyes, I mean."

"If so, I think that's a new development."

"It won't make them any easier to be around," I said sympathetically.

"No," he agreed, "but I have you to comfort me."

"Would you like me to comfort you now?" He grinned and took my hand, and we dashed off into a quiet and secluded area of rainforest.

The real problem, though, was Huilen. She didn't want to leave her familiar forest; didn't want to live with new people; didn't want to learn new ways of living. She could see that her nephew was opening himself up to more than just a new relationship. She was trying to be open minded for Nahuel's sake, but it was an uphill struggle for her.

By common agreement, we didn't mention returning north in front of Irina, Nahuel, or Huilen. We let the weeks pass, and the new relationship gradually develop, and Huilen slowly prepare herself for the inevitable break; and we waited for some indication that it was time to move on.

The indication came more abruptly than any of us had expected. Irina and Nahuel had gone off for their extended nightly stroll one evening at dusk. They were gone for the entire night, which was not unusual; but this time, when they turned up well after sunrise, something had changed. Both Edward and Jasper suddenly started, stared in the direction of the back door, and looked at each other in alarm.

"What is it?" Rosalie asked.

"Irina and Nahuel," Jasper said. "They're on their way back."

"So? What about them?"

Edward shrugged, seeming reluctant. "It's just that...I think their relationship's gone to the next level."

"More like, gone to the final level," Jasper said. "It's all done. Irina's gone over the edge."

We all knew what he meant. She'd fallen in love, really in love, and for a vampire that was a permanent condition. "What about Nahuel?" I asked.

"He feels the same way, but I don't know what that means for someone like him."

"None of us know, do we?"

"What if it's just a temporary fascination for him?" Tanya worried. "My poor Irina! She'd never be able to get over it, never! And she's always been so careful."

"But…" Bella began.

Tanya looked at her. "What, Bella?"

"But we do know a little bit, at least, don't we?" Everyone looked at her, and she hunched her shoulders uncomfortably, in a gesture that reminded me of the old, human Bella. "You know about Edward and me. Alice said - you _all_ said - I reacted like a vampire. There was a bond between us, even when I was still human."

"That's true," Carlisle said. "We hadn't expected it, and still can't explain it."

"Well, if it happens that way with two vampires, or with a vampire and a human, wouldn't it happen with a vampire and a half human, too?"

Jasper nodded. "Logically, it should."

"I hope, I hope…" Tanya repeated fervently.

"They're coming within earshot," Edward warned. We all hastened to look busy and unconcerned as the happy couple came through the door. They said hello, and we greeted them casually.

I kept my eyes on my sewing for a few minutes before looking up, not wanting them to feel watched. When I did look up, things were painfully obvious. I knew that look on Irina's face. It was the same look seen regularly on the faces of every mated vampire I'd ever met. The same look Jasper and I wore whenever we were alone together.

The same look that was now on Nahuel's face.

I felt like cheering. _So do you think Irina's out of danger?_ I thought, and Edward let his head droop very slightly in place of a nod. I sighed happily. The rest of the family seemed to pick up on our communication and relax.

The couple stood together near the doorway for almost a minute, as though hesitating to come further into the room. Finally, Nahuel pressed Irina's hand and quickly walked over to Huilen. "Aunt," he said, "I'd like to talk to you." He said a few more words, but in a language I didn't understand. Huilen answered him, and they seemed to have a brief dispute. Finally, Huilen stood and walked out the door - not as if she were walking away in a huff, but as if she'd been asked to.

Nahuel turned back to Irina. "She and I will have a great deal to discuss, and it will be difficult," he told Irina. "I have to stay with her until we can come to some understanding. I have no idea how long I may be away; but you know I will be back."

"Yes, I know it," she said simply. Edward looked at the ceiling; I could imagine the mental chorus of _Awww!_ he was picking up from at least a few of us.

Nahuel held her face between his hands, looked into her eyes a moment, and kissed her, openly in front of everyone. He glanced into the room. "My friends," he said to all of us, "I will be back when I can."

"Certainly, Nahuel," Tanya said. "I hope all is well with you and your aunt." That nicely avoided any acknowledgement that we knew what was going on.

"Thank you." Nahuel looked at Irina once more before turning and darting out the door. We heard his footsteps and Huilen's recede into the distance.

Irina watched out the back door until they were well out of sight, then finally closed the door and came into the room. She wandered distractedly around the public room, through the kitchen, and back out again, finally taking a place near the chessboard. Tanya went to her, put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you all right, my dear one?"

"I don't know. Yes. I think so. I'm…" She looked at Tanya helplessly. "Nahuel and I…"

"I know, Irishka; I know." Irina looked up curiously. "It's obvious. We only have to look at the two of you."

"I've never…" Irina seemed to be having trouble finishing sentences. Tanya pulled her into a hug and patted her back comfortingly. "It's so hard to be away from him, even for a short time. It's so ridiculous; it's only been ten minutes. Is it always like this?"

"I am the wrong person to ask," Tanya said quietly.

Irina pulled back to look at her contritely, but Tanya only laughed. "You should talk to some of the others. We have many couples in the family. They can certainly answer your questions."

"I don't think I have the patience for questions right now," Irina said, starting to pace again. "I wonder how long he'll be away? He has to talk to his aunt, you know, because…"

"Yes, I understand. Maybe we will be bringing another family member along when we go back up north, hm? Or even leaving one behind."

That was a possibility that hadn't, for some reason, occurred to me. Would Irina stay behind if Nahuel couldn't bring himself to leave his aunt? I supposed she would. She no longer had much choice.

Jasper suddenly stood up. "Tell you what," he said, walking over to one of the dining tables, "let's play a game of chess. Or maybe several. Winner plays Edward."

"Chess?" Irina said dubiously.

"Trust me," he told her kindly, "you need something to focus your mind on right now. And while we play, you can ask all those couple questions Tanya was mentioning just now."

Irina looked unconvinced, but willingly took her place at the chess board. "You can be white," Jasper offered, with the generosity of the sure winner.

They played three games before Irina won one; then Edward took her on; and all the while we fielded questions about love and bonding and mates and the whole damn mess.

"I suppose you could call it a bonding experience," Bella remarked to me later, as we carried some bags of food and outgrown clothing to a local shelter. "But isn't it too bad no one in this family can just meet, fall in love, and get married, without all these complications?"

"Look who's talking!" I laughed. "You and Edward were the worst! It was like some kind of horrible obstacle race."

"It was pretty bad at times," she admitted, "but all worth it. And at least I didn't have to wait as long as you and Jasper, or Carlisle, or even Esme."

"It'll be worth it for them, too," I said. "That's not fortune-telling, you understand. I'm just assuming."

Nahuel didn't come back that night, or the next. Jasper worked overtime keeping Irina calm. "Does being apart get easier?" she asked Carlisle plaintively.

"It gets…more manageable."

She sighed, and started a meticulous, top to bottom cleaning job on every square inch of the lodge. Nobody offered to help; it was therapy, not work, and she was more than welcome to it.

The third evening, after EJ was in bed for the night, we were all in the gleaming, spotless, lemon-scented common room when Irina suddenly raised her head and looked sharply at the door. A second later she was across the room and outside. We looked out in time to see Nahuel running to meet her, their bodies colliding violently as they fell together in a frantic embrace. Huilen ran up just behind them, took a quick look, then trotted right on past and through the door, leaving the reunited couple to themselves.

We welcomed Huilen back and chatted politely, all the while wondering what the upshot was. Huilen seemed happy, or at least calm, but she wasn't disposed to talk to us about it. Finally, seeing our curious faces pretending not to watch her, she smiled and said, "I'll tell you everything. Just wait until they come back into the house. I think we should all talk together."

Nahuel and Irina finally joined us, holding each other by the hand like drowning people clutching a lifeline. They seemed radiantly happy, and my optimism went up another notch. "We need to speak with you, if you would," Nahuel said, "about something concerning all of you."

Carlisle and Tanya, leaders of the two families, looked at each other. "Your house, your rules," Tanya said. Carlisle smiled and led the way to the dining room, where we gathered and stood together around the big communal dining table.

Carlisle nodded to Nahuel, and he seemed to gather his thoughts. He spoke a little formally, as if he felt that was called for in such an official meeting. "I have been away with my aunt, trying to find a solution that will please all of us. We had to speak about it for a long time, before we could come to an agreement between us. You know that I want to remain with Irina, to follow her if she returns with her family. But my aunt has been my only family for many years. I owe her everything. I owe her my very life; and I don't wish to leave her behind."

He looked around at us uncertainly, and several of us nodded encouragingly. "For myself, I would like to accompany you and make myself part of your family. It is not only to be with Irina, although that is the most important thing. I believe you live a much richer life than I could ever have here. I want that for myself, too. I want it for my aunt, if she is willing."

"I told him that I am willing," Huilen said, "only I don't know if I can hunt the way all of you do. I can't make any promises about that."

"That approach is challenging," Carlisle admitted.

"The matter I want to put before you is this," Nahuel went on. "Will you agree to let both me and Huilen come back with you, when you return home? If so, can you accept us even if Huilen does not adopt your way of hunting?  
"If you cannot accept us, we will do one of two things. We will stay here, Irina, Huilen and myself, and make the best life we can together, near our homeland in Chile.  
"Or else, we will accompany you north, but live a little apart from the rest of you, and form our own family of three."

Nahuel stopped and looked around again, apparently waiting for feedback.

"Is there an option you all prefer?" Carlisle asked.

Both Nahuel and Irina looked at Huilen. "I would be happy to try and live with Irina's family," she said, "if they find that agreeable. I think it would make these two happiest, and I am willing to make some changes, maybe changes for the better."

"Forgive me for being blunt," Tanya said, "but I have to know. If you come to live with us, do you intend to _try _and refrain from hunting humans? I am not asking for promises of perfection; I only want to know if it is something you honestly want to attempt."

"Yes," Huilen said. "It is something I would like to dedicate to Pire's memory. She was made a victim by one of us; she would be happy to know her son and her sister no longer harm innocent people. I will try, and I hope you will help me."

"Of course!" Tanya exclaimed. "We help each other. The struggle never ends, to be honest; but it is easier with one another for support."

Carlisle spread his hands. "It seems to have been decided."

"When do we go?" Nahuel asked.

Now that everything had been resolved, we saw no reason to delay, and we agreed to leave in three days. Huilen and Nahuel took the time to bring Irina to the site of Nahuel's birth and Pire's death, and other places of significance to them. They showed her one of the Mapuche villages, so she would see a little of how her mate's people lived. By the time they'd finished their sentimental journey, we had the lodge cleared out, our backpacks loaded, and were ready to go on a moment's notice.

Jasper left a long, sternly worded report on the lodge manager's desk, and emailed him to say he could begin accepting reservations again immediately. EJ was dressed up in her new homemade clothes, looking, by now, the age on her passport, if not beyond it. We agreed to skip the highly complicated manoeuvres that would be required to get our newer friends on a plane, and run all the way home.

"Would you like a pack of your own?" I asked Huilen.

She shook her head. "I have no possessions, beyond the clothes I am wearing, and this little memento of Pire," she explained, showing me a trinket around her neck. I resolved to change all that as soon as we got back. Huilen was about a size eight, I estimated, and could look amazing with the right wardrobe.

We followed more or less the same path to the north, following the coastline much of the way. As before, we sometimes stopped at hotels for the night, letting EJ sleep in a bed and the rest of us get some alone time. Garrett's eyes were almost amber by now, and he decided to accept a room with Kate, although the idea of staying in a hotel full of humans seemed to worry him a little. Nahuel, also, agreed to take a hotel room; he was less worried by the clientele than by the fact that sharing a hotel room with Irina was effectively announcing that they had an intimate relationship. As a man of the nineteenth century, he was a little uneasy with this. I was pretty sure he'd get over it.

Huilen couldn't handle the hotel; she chose to wander on her own for the night. We felt badly for her, and decided to complete the trip without further stops, although it would be rough on our various newlyweds and newly-mated. We ran steadily, letting EJ alternate between riding on someone's back and running along with us. She was faster now than she had been on the trip down. At night, we took turns carrying her, sleeping, in our arms as we continued to run.

As we travelled, we talked. Huilen had countless questions, and wanted to be prepared for her new living arrangements. She ended up getting an abridged history of almost everyone in our two families, and quite a bit about our past homes and our various mechanisms for passing as human.

We reached the Cullen house at night, and there was no one to see us return. We paused at that point to say goodbye to our cousins, before they continued a little further to their own home. Carlisle turned to Tanya. "Thank you for your help, and your company."

"Thank _you_," Tanya said, "for your hospitality. And for the opportunity to expand our family." She smiled back at the two new couples, and at Huilen.

"Wish us luck," Garrett said. "There are three of us changing our diets at once. You've only had to deal with one at a time."

"True," Carlisle laughed. "Good luck to you all. Let us know if we can be of help."

We hugged and called out goodbyes. "I'm sure we'll see you soon," Tanya called back as they began to run the short distance to their house.

EJ had slept through it all. We went inside, and Edward carried her to the bed in his and Bella's room and tucked her in. We all took a few minutes to check out the house and reorient ourselves before dispersing to our respective bedrooms.

In the morning we carefully checked the local news for anything we might need to be concerned about, then took ten minutes and did a massive group dusting of the long-empty house. Bella went online and let her one human friend, Rachel, know she was back in New Hampshire; was learning Spanish, dressmaking, and South American native folklore; and that she was starting on a biography of Jane Austen. She asked, in the usual veiled terms, how Charlie was doing. Rachel replied that Charlie was well, liked living with Sue Clearwater and seemed happy. She was teaching sixth grade English. She also had some more book recommendations.

"She still doesn't know about EJ, does she?" Rosalie asked.

"No," Bella said. "I was told not to mention it." She looked at me, but of course I couldn't see whether that was a necessary precaution of not. Nothing against these hybrids in general, but the blank spots are a pain.

We settled back into our old routine without any trouble, and for a while there was nothing new or significant to report. Which is a good thing, generally. EJ continued to grow and learn, and outgrow her clothing, at the same rapid but gradually decreasing rate. Her quick growth no longer worried us, since we now knew that she would end up like Nahuel, remaining fully grown but young forever.

The months passed quickly, and EJ's first birthday came before we knew it. That meant the new school year would be starting before long, and that fact started us thinking about relocating again. Carlisle asked for an informal meeting to talk it over.

"We haven't been here long," Rosalie pointed out, "and half the time was spent in South America."

"That's true," Esme agreed, "but Bella hasn't been able to go out in public the entire time. She can't attend college, which I know she was looking forward to, even though she's able to now." It was true: Bella's eyes had completely changed colour, and her self control around humans was immaculate. She could handle school standing on her head.

"Maybe EJ could go to school, too," Emmett suggested.

"That may be a problem right now," Carlisle said. "She's still growing at an unusual rate. It might draw attention."

"Once she's old enough - I mean, once she _looks_ old enough to go to high school, we might consider that," Bella said. "Her growth should have slowed down enough by then."

"That seems sensible," Carlisle agreed. "Any arguments against our moving?"

"The Denalis moved here from Alaska just to be closer to us," Esme pointed out. "That's not an absolutely compelling reason, but we would either be at a distance again, or they would also have to relocate."

"A good point," Carlisle agreed. "I wouldn't mind getting their input on the decision."

"If we do move, where would we go?" Jasper asked.

Carlisle spread his hands. "I'm open to suggestions. We have various properties around the continent."

"Since we're avoiding being seen here, due to the story about the house fire, it might make sense to leave the continent for a time."

We all agreed that was valid, and ran through the possibilities. "We could do a world tour," I suggested. "See Europe and points east. It would be educational for EJ, and a perfect time to do it, since she's not expected to be in school every day at this point."

"And by the time we get back," Rosalie said, "the fire story would have been forgotten, and Bella can show her face again."

"Just to be on the safe side, we can settle outside the U.S. for a few years," Jasper said.

"Any other suggestions?" Carlisle asked.

"We have possible homes on fairly short notice in Canada, New Zealand, and Norway."

"Or we could even go back to Bolivia for a longer period," I put in. "Not my first choice, but it's not a bad location."

Carlisle nodded. "I don't think we can come to a decision today. I'd like us to confer with Tanya's family. Meanwhile, perhaps everyone can collect what information they have on new locations and what would be involved in relocating there." We all agreed, and the meeting dispersed.

Esme phoned Tanya, and the Denalis agreed to stop by. We'd seen them a little less often as a group since our return. Tanya still popped in regularly to chat with us, and especially with EJ; and Carmen and Eleazar came along often.

The two new couples were seen infrequently, which was to be expected. I recalled my early days with Jasper. Once we'd met and fallen in love, I told him of my vision of the Cullen family, of the peaceful life we could both find there. He agreed that we should search until we'd found them. Then we slept together for the first time, and our search was put on hold for a while; it was the better part of a year before we could stop long enough to begin searching, even for part of the day. That obsessive quality doesn't ever really change; we can divide our time more reasonably now, but it took a while to get there. The rookie couples, in the absence of any earth-shaking emergency, would be holed up alone together for weeks.

This time, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, and Huilen showed up. We caught up for a while, and asked discreetly how Huilen was adapting to her new life. Translation: has she killed any human beings lately? Apparently all was well so far.

We explained the reasons we were thinking of moving on, and what alternatives we were considering. Esme added, "One reason we were reluctant to move is that we would lose you as neighbours, so soon after you followed us here."

"We would like being close by," Tanya said, "but of course you also have to do what is best for your own family."

"Right now is not such a bad time for such a separation, if it has to come," Eleazar said. "We have three new members, all of whom are still vegetarians in training. Our life is busy and demanding. Both families would benefit from each other's company more in a year or so, than they likely will now."

"I see what you mean," Carlisle said. "If you begin to experience trouble, we would naturally be happy to come back and help; but you seem to have everything under control."

"So far," Tanya said cheerfully. "Huilen is the most challenging. The other two are kept distracted, and needless to say they don't go out much right now. Nothing like obsessive, nonstop sex to make quitting easier."

"Very true," Carlisle agreed with a grin.

"Amen to that," Emmett offered.

"I like this idea of travelling a bit," Tanya said. "It might be good for the little one to see different places, varied cultures and languages."

"If you're concerned about Bella being recognized, staying on the move would make it less likely," Carmen said, "especially if you were far from here."

Edward nodded. "I'd like her to have a stable home while she's young, though."

"Home isn't a building," I said. "Didn't EJ feel at home when we were in Bolivia, as much as here? _We're_ her home, and we'd be with her the entire time."

"Well put, dear," Esme said, dimpling at me.

"Once she looked thirteen or so," Bella told Tanya, "we could settle in one place a while, and EJ could go to school."

"That sounds workable," Edward said, and the others seemed to agree.

"Have you decided where?" Tanya asked.

"Not so far," Carlisle admitted. "We're considering several possibilities. We have a house nearly ready in Canada, and I believe Jasper was looking into New Zealand."

"Kind of a washout," Jasper told him. "On the plus side, the paperwork is very manageable, medical degrees easily transferrable, resident status easy enough to get if you're in a desirable profession - like medical doctor. However, the climate isn't nearly as favourable as we'd thought, and hunting is awful. No large predators, and not much else of interest besides deer. Also a very limited night life." He glanced my way.

"They have feral cats, I saw online," Bella said, grinning at EJ, "and would be happy to have someone help decrease the population."

"Not enough to make it desirable," Esme said. "But I'm sure one of our prospective homes here or in Canada could be prepared while we're travelling."

"Do we have a tentative plan, then?" Carlisle asked. "Travel for a period of time, no less than a year, and eventually settle back on this content for, most likely, the duration of Elizabeth's high school career. At that point, we can discuss another move if necessary."

"I like the idea," Rosalie said. "It's a great opportunity for EJ, and I wouldn't mind doing some travelling for a change."

"Sounds perfect to me," I agreed.

Esme seemed to ponder. "Edward, are you still worried about EJ being moved around too much?"

"No, I suppose Alice is right. I would like to add the provision, though, that we rethink our plans if EJ seems to be suffering from the experience in any way."

"That goes without saying," Esme said.

"Just wanted it out there," Edward told her. "I'm happy with the plan. I know Bella was hoping to see a bit of the world after we were married." He smiled at her.

"Very well," Carlisle said. "Let's start making the arrangements."


	17. Westward, Ho!

Arranging for a grand tour for a family of nine take a little time and effort, even for us. Jasper had to make sure our passports and cover story IDs were watertight enough for border crossings and airport security; Emmett and Rosalie redirected our money so we could use credit cards without a hitch no matter where we went; Esme put the house on the market and hired an agent to deal with the sale. All of us sorted through our belongings, discarding, as usual, the majority, putting a few treasures in storage, and packing what we wanted to take along.

I packed carry-on luggage only. If we were going to Europe, I was planning on buying my wardrobe as I went.

I scanned ahead, on and off, for days, to ensure that the flight we took would go smoothly. I was getting better at seeing around the blank spots EJ caused in my vision, and I felt pretty confident when I told Carlisle to book the first class tickets to London, our first stop.

"We're going to London, little girl!" Bella told EJ, picking her up and spinning her. "The place Grandpa Carlisle comes from."

"It may look a little different than when he left," Emmett told her.

EJ seemed excited by the prospect. "Where else?"

"Where else are we going? Well, all over Europe, and maybe other places. We'll decide when we get there." Bella opened the atlas we used for EJ's geography lessons, and showed her a world map. "See? First we're flying from here to here. Then we travel east." She pointed out France, Spain, Germany. "Maybe here, where Tanya and Irina and Kate come from, too."

EJ nodded happily. "When do we get to the places I wanted to see?"

Bella looked confused. "What places, baby?"

"Where I can see my other grandma and my other grandpa." She looked down at the map. "Where are they?"

Bella looked to Edward for help. "Sweetheart, we weren't planning on going there. We're taking a plane from here straight to London."

EJ looked more dejected than I'd seen her before. She ran to her father and firmly seized both his hands, staring up into his face. Bella looked at him questioningly. "She's reminding me of the last time she mentioned this. You said we would try to let her see her grandparents when we had the chance. She feels that, if we're doing all this random and extensive travelling, we should be able to work in a stop to see Renee and Charlie."

"That does seem only fair, to be honest," Carlisle said cautiously. "She's entitled to request a destination, just as the rest of us have."

"That's true," Edward said slowly, "but how do we manage to let her, er…?"

Family meeting time. We formed a circle.

"What do you think of including Elizabeth's visits in our itinerary?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper shrugged. "There's not much reason she couldn't see Renee or Charlie. The question is whether they could see her."

"You mean, we could arrange for her to watch them from a distance, without their realizing?" Edward asked.

"Yes. That should be perfectly safe; but I don't know if it would satisfy her." He looked at EJ, who paused and reached up to touch his face.

"Essentially, she says it would be better than nothing, but she'd rather talk to them a little bit," Edward reported.

"That does make sense," Esme said. "Is there a way we could manage it?"

"They couldn't know who you are, sweetie," I said. "You understand that, right?" She nodded solemnly.

"Well," Jasper said, "we'd have to come up with an excellent cover story. None of us could be there with her, so we'd have to be sure she's in a place she has some business being. EJ would also," he broke off and looked at the child, "no offence meant, but you would have to be very careful and very well behaved. You can't give anything away. Not your parents' names, not your real name, not even where you come from. You'd have to remember everything perfectly."

EJ looked at him with considerable dignity. "I can do that."

"One problem I see," Emmett said, "is that she'd have to see them alone. None of us could be with her as parent or guardian or whatever. Bella's parents know all of us by sight. And there aren't that many places a little kid can wander around without adult supervision. Somebody might ask her where her parents are, and we couldn't step in."

"That is a problem," Edward agreed. "It's too bad there isn't somebody who could go with her. One of the Denalis could, if they were coming with us."

Bella tilted her head thoughtfully. "My mother's a primary school teacher. EJ could mix in with some kids in a playground or something, where Mom was overseeing students. We'd have to pick our time and place carefully, but that might work, don't you think?"

"Yes, that sounds reasonable," Carlisle agreed."What about your father?"

"Well, it's harder with Charlie, of course; but what if someone else, an adult, went with her? Someone outside the family?"

"But who?" Edward asked. "There's no one outside the family we could let in on our situation."

"There's one person," Bella said. "Rachel Black." We all stared at her. "Rachel knows all about us. She knows Charlie. She lives right there. She's a friend of mine, and would be willing to do me a favour like this if I asked."

"So…what?" Rosalie asked. "Rachel could find some excuse to drop in on Charlie, and tell him, 'Oh, this is my friend's kid that I'm babysitting for the day'?"

"Something like that," Bella agreed.

"But Rachel doesn't know you have a daughter," Edward said.

"I could tell her."

Edward looked worried. "We don't know what the wolves might make of that, and Alice can't predict the result."

"True," Jasper said, "but if they are ever to find out about EJ's existence, it would be better if they found out while we're at a distance. It might actually be useful to know whether they consider her a threat, for future reference."

We talked it over at some length. At last, Carlisle asked Bella to contact Rachel and tell her she had a daughter, and under what circumstances. "We'll wait for Rachel's response, and act accordingly."

Bella wrote a long, careful email to Rachel, beginning with the usual pleasantries, then moving on to _There's something I haven't told you about before_. She described the surprise pregnancy, the touch-and-go delivery, and her change following the birth, clearly but without elaborating.

Bella became more eloquent when she actually described her daughter.

_We named her Elizabeth Renee. She's so beautiful, Rachel, with big brown eyes and curly auburn hair, and the prettiest little face. She's half human, so her heart beats, and she's warm. She sleeps at night, and can eat food like humans; but she's strong and fast like a vampire. She grows faster than regular people, just like before she was born, so even though she's only a year old, she looks like a little schoolgirl, not a toddler. She can talk perfectly, and even read and write and stuff. She's so sweet and loving, and we all just adore her._

_I've wanted to tell you about it before; and one reason I'm doing it now is that we hope to pass through Forks soon. We're taking an extended trip, and the baby wanted to see her grandfather at least once. He can't know who she is, of course, but we thought we could at least give her a chance to see him in person. _

_I hope you aren't too put off by the baby thing. I know it's unusual, but if you met my little girl, I'm sure you would like her too. _

_Write soon._

_Your friend,  
__B_

We waited. A reply finally came two days later. Rachel sent along rather cautious congratulations. She had, predictably, told Paul about the news, and the entire pack had convened to discuss it. At the heart of the discussion were two questions: was EJ covered under the Cullen's treaty; and did she constitute a threat? Rachel wrote:

_Some of the guys thought the treaty didn't include her, but Old Quil disagreed. He said the treaty was with the whole Cullen family. A new member who was brought in by the usual means, by being bitten or by joining voluntarily from outside, would not be part of the treaty. But, Old Quil said, it's a given that a child actually born into a family is automatically part of that family. He believes EJ is included in the treaty as a Cullen family member, and he eventually brought everyone else around._

_They weren't able to decide if she was a threat or not. None of them could really define what the threat was; I think they were just a little weirded out by the whole thing. They want to talk about it more, and maybe find out more. This is kind of an unexpected thing. Nobody knew it was even possible._

That seemed a little ominous, and after some discussion, Bella was asked to write back and get assurances that the pack wouldn't harm EJ. This time, Rachel replied within the hour.

_They were very clear that your baby is protected under the treaty. They may want to find out more, and may even ask your family to leave the area, but they won't attack her._

We decided to proceed with Operation Grandparents. We postponed the European trip for now, and instead headed for Phoenix. Bella's mom and stepdad had moved back there, so we had to work carefully to give EJ her chance to meet Grandma Renee while keeping ourselves out of the glaring Arizona sun. The first step was booking a flight which arrived in Phoenix after dark. The Denalis came to see us off, all of them, even the new members; and Tanya and Eleazar drove us to the airport in their respective cars.

"Let us know when you finally settle again in one place," Tanya said as she dropped us off, "and we'll arrange to be neighbours again. I think the new couples should be up to travelling by then."

"That will be wonderful, Tanya," Esme said, hugging her. "I hope everything goes well with your new members."

"Yeah, good luck with that," Emmett told her.

"Have a good trip," Eleazar said, hugging us all.

Tanya crouched down to face EJ. "Especially you, little girl. I'll miss you." EJ touched her face, giving her reply in silence, before throwing her arms around Tanya's neck, then kissed Eleazar on the cheek.

We wheeled our luggage into the departure lounge and prepared for the slightly complex manoeuvres necessary for us to pass through airport scans. Flying was trickier than it used to be. We were finally able to relax our vigilance when we were settled into first class seats and the plane began its taxi down the runway. EJ had flown only once before, and was charmingly excited about the plane rising into the air.

As planned, we landed just after sunset, and were able to book a hotel room in plenty of time for EJ's nightly chat and bedtime stories. Edward and Bella tucked her into her bed in the second bedroom of their suite, and we gathered in the suite's living room to discuss strategy.

"Should she see Renee at her home or at her workplace?" Jasper asked.

"Well, since she works in a primary school, it might be easier to find an excuse for her presence there," Edward said.

"Not necessarily," Bella said. "Teachers would notice a strange kid suddenly turning up in the classroom, or even on the playground. It might be easier if EJ showed up at the house, maybe selling Girl Scout cookies or something."

"That would make for a very short meeting," Rosalie pointed out.

"I'm not sure we could manage a longer one," Carlisle said.

"Wait - school is just starting for the year, right?" Bella asked. "I remember from before…"

"Before?" I asked. "Like, when you were human?"

"Right." She frowned, trying to collect the wispy human memories. "They had some kind of open house every year."

Carlisle looked at her. "Open house? You mean, at your mother's school?"

"Yeah, it was for kids who might be starting school there in the coming year, or even the following year, and their parents. Teachers would be there to show them around and answer questions."

"That sounds like an ideal situation," said Carlisle, "except that EJ would still be expected to have at least one parent with her."

"Is it at all possible for one of us to go?" Rosalie asked.

"That could be tricky," Emmett said. "You've seen what the weather is like here. Blazing sun, all the time. Window glass wouldn't be enough to filter it."

Edward looked thoughtful. "What's the school building like?" he asked Bella. "Can you remember?"

"A little bit."

"Are there large plate glass windows?"

She thought. "Yes, but I remember Mom saying they'd put in these heat reflecting things over the windows. It got too hot in the classrooms before."

"Would those also filter out the sun?" Jasper asked.

"No idea."

"Why don't we go and check?" Emmett suggested.

We responded positively, always up for a little B and E into a public building. "It's probably got an alarm system," I pointed out. "Maybe security cameras."

Rosalie waved a hand dismissively. "I can manage those." She could, too.

After more discussion, we decided to keep the illegal entrants down to two: Edward and Rosalie. Rose had the skill with security devices, and Edward had the speed, to pull this off without a mishap. We looked up the floor plan of Renee's school online, and the two of them went off together.

They returned after ninety minutes. "No problem," Rosalie reported. The windows are all covered with this reflective film that screens out the sunlight. There shouldn't be a sun issue at all, except in the southeast corner of the cafeteria."

"We'll avoid that," Carlisle said. "Now, obviously Bella and Edward can't appear on their own. Someone else will have to act as Elizabeth's parents." He turned to Bella. "Your mother has met Alice and myself, in Phoenix after your accident. Has she ever seen anyone else in the family, even in photographs?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she hasn't."

"Esme would probably be the most believable as a parent," Edward said, "if you wouldn't mind taking on that role."

We quickly put together a cover story. EJ would be Elizabeth Masen, Esme her mother, Anna Masen. The Masens were planning on moving to Phoenix the following year and wanted to check out the local schools before choosing a neighbourhood. That gave Esme a reason to be present without calling for any commitment to the school she was visiting. She'd try to arrange a chat with Renee about her school, during which EJ could, at least, meet her grandma unofficially.

The open house was in four days, leaving us three days to hide in the hotel during daylight hours. We did go out after dark and sample the Phoenix nightlife, which was a mixed bag. On the third night, Edward and Bella took EJ with them to look at the Sonoran Desert - a place Bella had found beautiful when she was human, and found even more breathtaking now. I suppose it was a way of letting the baby connect with her mother's human past, just a little.

On Saturday, Esme dressed in her most banal upper middle class garb, and EJ was put into a navy and white polka dot dress, her curls tied back in a ponytail. She was briefed on what not to say and do, and she and her temporary parent set off in a rented Mercedes, chosen for its tinted windows.

Two hours later, they returned. "Well?" Rosalie demanded as they came through the door.

"We were able to spend some time talking with Mrs. Dwyer," Esme said. "She met with us to discuss the school. She even chatted with EJ for a little while. It worked out very well, I thought."

"What did you think, sweetie?" Rose asked EJ. The baby paused, then reached out to touch Rosalie.

"Wait a minute," Emmett protested. "We all want to see what happened!"

After a moment's thought, EJ gestured us closer. She had us huddle together so she could touch all of us at once - all but her father, who could see without contact - and pressed her hands against the five of us.

I saw images flash through my mind. Through EJ's thoughts, I saw myself in the back seat of the Mercedes, and Esme parking in the block of shade near the school building. I saw the inside of the school, the standard brick building with terrazzo floors and endless posters on the walls. In EJ's mind, it was all new and fascinating. She read the posters, wondered what a _pep rally_ was, what a _field trip_ was, what _detentions_ were. She watched the stream of humans, adults and children, move through the halls. The throat burn was unpleasant, but there was so much to distract from it.

I watched as Esme pretended to tour the school, talk with teachers, ask questions about things like physical education and teacher-pupil ratio. At last, in the school library, they encountered Ms. Dwyer. I felt EJ's intense interest, saw Renee through her eyes. I felt EJ's delight at the resemblance between Renee and her own mother. In EJ's mind, Renee looked kind, cheerful, motherly. She looked old, too, which was a concept still a little unfamiliar to EJ; she regarded the minor signs of aging on Renee's face with great respect.

Renee talked to the interested couple for some time, becoming animated as she discussed her own third grade class. Finally she turned to EJ. "What do you think of our school, Elizabeth?"

"It's very interesting."

Renee grinned. "I hear you like reading."

EJ had been coached to provide simple answers, not too many personal details. "Yes, I like to read."

"What are your favourite books?"

"I like…" I felt EJ's quick calculations. She knew she read well beyond her age level. "I like old fairy tales, and poetry, and sometimes books about history. And I like to look at maps."

"I like all those things, myself," Renee told her. "Do you read by yourself, or do your parents read to you?"

"Both." Pausing to calculate the appropriateness of the question, she added, "What do _you_ like to read?"

"Me? Oh, all kinds of things. Stories about long ago. Sometimes fantasy stories - like fairy tales for grownups, you know?" EJ smiled back at her. I felt how pleased she was with Renee. "And I read books about how to be a better teacher."

"I'll bet you're a good teacher."

"Thank you, honey! I try to be."

Renee talked to Esme again briefly before handing her some literature on the school district and wishing her and her absent husband luck in their upcoming move. "It was very nice to meet you, Elizabeth," Renee said to EJ.

"It was very nice meeting _you_," EJ replied solemnly. In her mind, I saw Renee smile at the polite response, and felt EJ's little stab of disappointment at not being able to reveal who she was. Then she was leaving the school with Esme and returning to the car; and suddenly the images stopped as EJ let her hand drop.

"She seems like a nice lady," I commented.

EJ nodded, and turned to Esme. "Thank you for taking me."

"I was delighted to do it, sweetheart," Esme assured her.

"There were a lot of humans there," EJ commented. "More than I've ever seen at one time." She reflected a moment. "I like humans."

"Do you, my sweet?" Edward asked, bemused at her reaction.

"Yes. I love vampires and humans, both." She spoke firmly, as if coming to a decision.

EJ was unusually quiet the next day, while we packed up and prepared for the next leg of our journey. I saw her silently communicating with Bella on several occasions; from Bella's answers, I gathered she was asking for more details about Renee. By the time we reached the airport, she seemed to have worked through anything that was on her mind. We boarded a flight for Seattle, scheduled to arrive at 11:35 AM. We no longer had to travel strictly by night; the entire area was overcast for the next 48 hours, and Forks itself for much longer.

We checked into a Seattle hotel while we worked out our approach. Any of us might be recognized in Forks, so we couldn't wander freely into the town. "Perhaps now is the time to approach Rachel about providing an escort for EJ," Edward suggested to Bella.

Bella sent Rachel an email explaining their situation, describing the trip they'd made in order to contact her mother. _Would you be willing to just take her for a walk or something, and happen to run into Charlie?_ she wrote. _It could be at the station or somewhere else. She just wants to meet him once. We'd pick her up again right after that. I'd really appreciate it._ She hit Send, and we sat back and waited.

"I'm a little nervous about putting her in someone else's custody, however briefly," Edward confessed.

"I think we can trust Rachel," Bella said in surprise.

"I believe so, but she does have that affiliation with the wolves."

"The wolves consider her protected by the treaty," Carlisle said. "I know they'll respect that." Edward nodded.

Bella received a reply after half an hour. Rachel accepted the request. _It's no trouble at all_, she wrote. _I'm a little curious to see her myself, to tell the truth. Charlie is meeting Sue at the diner for supper tomorrow, so I could stop in there and 'accidentally' run into them, if that seems okay to you. _

She proposed that we drop EJ off at a particular spot in the woods, a couple of miles outside the reserve, at five o'clock the following day. Bella wrote back to agree, and the meeting was set.

There was more briefing of EJ on what to not say or do, more explanation of who Charlie was, who Sue was, and who Rachel was, and where they would be meeting. She was requested to eat food if it was offered to her, and she made a face but agreed. She was told the meeting would probably be brief.

At five the next day, we were all standing together in a shady, wet picnic area just off the highway. We heard a car pull over, and I recognized Rachel's scent, but she was not alone. The stench of werewolf accompanied her.

"Is that…?" Bella asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes, you've never been near a werewolf since your change, have you?" Edward said, too quickly for EJ to catch.

"You were right about the smell!" she said.

Rachel appeared, with Paul beside her, looking wary. "Hi," she said, smiling tentatively.

"Rachel!" Bella exclaimed, and dashed forward to hug her friend. There was a brief but intense flurry of reaction. Paul seemed to immediately go on alert, and Edward tensed to leap forward if necessary. As Bella embraced her, Rachel stiffened, but patted Bella's back in response. Paul and Edward both seemed to stand down. "Oh, I'm sorry," Bella said, drawing back and finally taking in the tense atmosphere. "I probably startled you."

"A little," Rachel admitted. "You look…different. Good, I mean," she added hastily, "but different."

Bella laughed. "I feel different, too. But I still feel like myself, if you know what I mean."

"I think so."

"It's so good to see you again!"

"You too." Rachel finally relaxed and smiled. Her eyes looked past Bella, to where EJ was standing between Edward and Esme. "Is that her?"

"Yes!" Bella took EJ by the hand. "This is Elizabeth. EJ, this is my friend, Rachel Black."

"Hi," Rachel said, staring.

"Hello." EJ met her eyes and smiled, and Rachel couldn't help but smile in return. Nobody could resist our EJ.

"And this is Rachel's friend, Paul."

"Hello, Paul." EJ studied him carefully, probably wondering what was up with the scent. Or _did_ werewolves smell the same to a hybrid?

"Paul wanted to come along when we went to meet your grandfather," Rachel explained, catching Carlisle's eye. Obviously, Paul was meant to act as bodyguard.

"Okay." EJ looked back at Paul. "Do you know my grandpa?"

"Uh, yeah, I've known him a long time."

"So, I think we have the concept," Rachel said. "She - Elizabeth is the daughter of a friend, and I'm babysitting for the day. We bump into Charlie and Sue, and chat for a bit. Maybe I'll buy the kid an ice cream cone or something while we're there. When we're done, I'll meet you back here. Okay?"

"Yes, that sounds right," Edward agreed. "Are you ready, sweetheart?" EJ nodded, and walked trustingly over to Rachel.

"We'll see you soon," Bella said, and Rachel led EJ back to the car, Paul following behind her. A moment later, we heard Rachel's car pull back onto the highway.

"Is Paul really okay with her?" Bella asked.

"He seems fine," Edward answered. "He doesn't seem to regard her as threatening."

We stayed close to where we were, talking and fooling around in the trees, until we heard Rachel's car returning. We waited alertly until she reappeared, holding EJ by the hand. EJ let her go and ran to Bella. "Is everything okay, baby?" Bella asked worriedly. EJ nodded, smiling.

"Everything went fine," Rachel said. Paul was still there, and still not saying much. "We said we were coming in to get the little girl some ice cream, and we sat down at the table with Charlie and Sue for a few minutes. Charlie talked to her for a bit. They really seemed to hit it off."

"Did Sue know who she was?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, Sue knows; but she was okay with it. I mean, she was prepared in advance."

"What did you think, my sweet?" Edward asked her. She grinned and placed her hand against his wrist. Edward smiled. "Yes, your mama looks a little like him, too."

"You get your curly hair from Grandpa Charlie, I think," Bella added. "Are you glad you met him?"

"Yes!"

Edward stiffened suddenly. "What is it?" Jasper asked. A moment later we all knew. The scent of werewolves, many of them, approaching through the woods.

Bella snatched EJ up into her arms. "Why are they coming here?" She looked accusingly at Paul.

"They don't mean any harm, love," Edward assured her. "They only want to see the half-vampire for themselves."

"You're sure?" Carlisle asked, and he nodded.

They came into sight at that point. It was the entire pack, along with the odd friend or relative. Two were in wolf form, the rest were human. They approached as a group, wolves first, and we stood our ground. Bella still held EJ in her arms.

Sam moved to the front of the group. "This is her?" he asked without preamble.

"Hello, Sam," Carlisle said affably. "Yes, this is our Elizabeth. This is our friend, Sam Uley." EJ waved at him and showed her dimples.

"She seems pretty much like a regular kid," Sam remarked, frowning.

"She is a mixture," Carlisle told him. "She has many human qualities, but vampire ones as well."

"Does she bite?"

Edward cleared his throat, showing mild disapproval of Sam's brusqueness. "She is not venomous. She hunts animals, as we do; small ones at the moment. She is also able to live on human food if necessary."

"And she was really, you know, born? Bella had her when she was human?" His eyes went to Bella.

"I did," Bella said, "and hello to you too, Sam."

"Um, sorry. The situation is a little distracting."

"It's okay. Yes, she's really my daughter, mine and Edward's."

Sam was prepared to ask another question, but a different distraction drew his attention at that moment. Jacob, who had been standing directly behind him, glowering, seemed to be unwell. He was swaying unsteadily on his feet, staring fixedly at one point. At EJ, it seemed. He stumbled slightly where he stood and put a hand on Sam's shoulder to steady himself, still staring, dazed.

The rest of the pack looked at him, mystified at first, then with a look of dawning realization, then of horror. They shifted uneasily, murmuring.

"What's happening?" Emmett asked. He looked at Edward, but got no answer. Edward was watching Jacob, wide eyed and shocked.

Sam Uley looked from the stricken Jacob to the other pack members and back again, finally seeming to understand.

"Oh, _crap_!" he said.


	18. Romeo & Juliet: the David Lynch Version

"But why _her_?" Bella asked. There was no answer for her, any more than there had been the first four times she'd asked the question.

We were back in our hotel, to which we'd retreated after nearly a hour of the most bizarre revelations, arguments, accusations and pleading the world had ever seen. It was made more confusing by the fact that our data was incomplete. Bella knew a little bit about this imprinting business, and Edward received information about it first-hand; but Jasper was aware only of what Jacob's emotional state was but not the reason behind it, and the rest of us were largely in the dark. Edward kept trying to fill us in while Sam and the rest of the pack were being loudly incredulous, and Bella was threatening to kick Jacob's wolfy butt all over Washington State.

Fortunately, it had occurred to Rachel to take EJ on a little walk before things really got underway, so the kid was kept out of the loop.

Jacob, meanwhile, was fairly oblivious to it all. He just wanted to look at EJ, and as long as Rachel walked out of earshot but within sight of him, it appeared he was fine with all hell breaking loose around him.

"Will you stop staring at her?" Bella finally demanded. "It's creepy. And she's not yours!"

"Sorry!" he said cheerfully, without taking his eyes off EJ.

"What were you thinking?" she raged. "She's just a little girl! Even littler than she looks - she's not even two yet!"

"It wasn't a voluntary thing, Bella," Paul told her. "I thought you understood how it works."

"I understand," she said, "but why would he imprint on my daughter? I thought we were your sworn enemies, and all that."

The group exchanged looks. "That, we don't know. Only that we don't get to choose. Once it happens, it's a permanent thing."

Rachel wandered back cautiously and rejoined us. Bella glared at Jacob, who was on his feet and slowly moving in EJ's direction. The baby looked back at him, unafraid, and smiled. He blinked at the sight.

"Hi," she said.

He swallowed. "Hi," he whispered. He was so mesmerized, so helplessly delighted with the very sight of our EJ, it seemed impossible to interfere.

"I'm Elizabeth."

"I'm Jacob."

She paused and then, maybe remembering some detail of etiquette she'd picked up, she held out her hand. Jacob carefully took it, shook hands with her, and let her go.

"Are you one of the wolf people?"

"One of…? Yes, I am."

"I thought so. I never met one of those before today." She grinned at him.

He smiled back. "I never met anyone like you before, either," he said.

She smiled wider at that. "I just met my grandpa. Charlie Swan, his name is. Were you friends with him?"

"Yes," Jacob affirmed, seeming to get his bearings a little. "I still am."

"Then are you my friend, too?" she asked.

"I'll be your friend forever," he said, without histrionics, just as a statement of fact.

EJ regarded him a moment, then stepped forward. "Let me show you Grandpa," she said.

"Show me?"

Edward opened his mouth to explain, but EJ continued on her own. "I can show you what's in my mind. Some people think it's a little bit scary at first, but it won't hurt you. Do you want to see?" He nodded, and she placed her hand in his.

Jacob gasped, but didn't shrink away. He stared at EJ as she showed him her 'pictures' for over two minutes, and finally released his hand.

"That's amazing," Jacob said, and EJ grinned happily. "Could you always do that?"

"Yes," she said. "Even when I was just a new baby. I could show everybody what was in my mind."

"I wish I could show you what's in my mind," he said.

"Okay," Bella said, "that's it. I'm taking EJ and getting out of here."

"What?" Jacob said in alarm. "Where?"

She looked daggers at him. "Just to the hotel where we're staying. I need to get away from this insanity for a while."

"I think we all do," Carlisle agreed.

"But you won't go far, right?" Jacob pleaded. It was strange to see him so abject. He'd always been such a cocky little so-and-so. "You won't just take her and leave, without telling me?"

Bella seemed ready to snap back at him, but Edward replied, to my surprise, "No, I promise we won't do that, Jacob. We'll be at the hotel in Seattle. We all need to talk more."

"That's for sure," Sam said. "Can you come back later? Say, midnight?"

"No, not midnight." Edward said. "Elizabeth sleeps at night, like a human child."

"She does?" Jacob said eagerly. He seemed overjoyed with any new information about EJ.

"Tomorrow morning, then. Seven o'clock?"

"Just like old times," I muttered, referring to the highly charged A.M. meetings we'd had when forming an alliance with the werewolves.

"Seven," Carlisle repeated. We all turned to go.

EJ looked back to wave at the group. "'Bye, wolf people," she called out. "'Bye, Jacob." Bella grimaced irritably.

Jacob raised his hand in farewell. "'Bye, Elizabeth. See you tomorrow."

She nodded. Bella swept her up and carried her off, followed by the rest of us.

"I like wolf people, too," EJ commented as we went.

"Do you, darling?" Rosalie asked. "Er...what do you think of their scent?" Just what I'd been wondering.

EJ seemed at a loss for words, and reached out. I took her other hand, curious. She showed us an olfactory comparison. Vampires smelled consistently sweet and pleasant, and the scent of each individual was very distinctive. I experienced her perception of the scent of each family member, Bella's, of course, being her favourite. She briefly recalled Senna's scent, which had been especially noteworthy. Guerlain would kill for a copy of _that_ formula.  
Humans made her thirsty, but she found their scent interesting, too. It was a little harder to distinguish human individuals by smell. Her reaction to human scent seemed subtly different from ours, maybe because of her human makeup. Her thirst wasn't overpowering.  
Then she showed us the werewolves' scent. It was strikingly different in her mind from what the rest of us experienced. There was no repellant stench, only a distinct, piquant muskiness that added a tang to the standard human scent. She could discern one wolf from another very easily by smell. That was harder for us: the harsh smell overpowered individual differences. EJ actually _liked_ the way they smelled.

Once EJ was fed and asleep for the night, we convened once more. "I want to be clear," Carlisle said. "What does this mean for us? Edward, you could see it from their perspective, I assume?"

"Yes," Edward said. "Imprinting is a sudden, powerful, unchanging bond with the imprinted object. Not many of the werewolves experience it, but a few find their mates that way."

"Mates," Emmett repeated. "That's the part I don't get. EJ is ahead of her class, but she's not old enough to be anybody's mate."

"It's not quite like that," Edward said. "Jacob doesn't see her as a mate, not yet."

"I saw something like this once, when I spent the day at First Beach with the pack," Bella said. "There were some couples who were imprinted already - people roughly the same age. But there was one boy, Quil, who had imprinted on a two year old. He didn't act like…you know, like he saw her _that_ way. He was more like the most perfect combination big brother, nanny, teacher and friend you ever saw. He was kind of riveted on the kid, which was a little bit weird, but it was clear he saw her as a little child, not a girlfriend."

"As the object of the imprinting grows older, and is ready for a mature relationship," Edward went on, "their relationship will change - but not before then."

"So if we stick around," Bella fumed, "Jacob would be the same way. Constantly around EJ, being the perfect caregiver, like some superhuman, über-canine Mary Poppins."

"But what do we do about it?" Rosalie asked. "Why did you say we wouldn't leave town? Or was that just to throw him off?"

"I wasn't trying to throw him off. I didn't feel it was right to remove EJ from the area, at least not until we've discussed the matter."

"So you're going along with this pre-arranged wolf marriage thing?" I asked him.

"Not exactly," he said slowly. "It's just that…I can see all this from Jacob's perspective; from the perspective of other imprinted individuals. As Sam said, it's not voluntary or changeable. Jacob is tied to EJ in a completely immutable way. He cannot be away from her for long. He would suffer beyond belief, and quite possibly die."

I could see why Edward would be sympathetic to someone in that position. Even so…"But does that mean we're expected to stay in Forks indefinitely?"

"We haven't really addressed the possible options," Carlisle said. "That's what tomorrow's meeting is for. We'll find an appropriate solution, and we'll choose it together. Although, naturally, Edward and Bella have final say on decisions about their daughter."

"What's that smell?" Rosalie asked suddenly, frowning at the windows.

Jasper went to the window and opened the fresh air vent. The pungent scent of werewolf filled the room. He closed it again. "Are they here?"

Edward was staring at the window, his head to one side. "It's Jacob," he said. "He's in wolf form. It's amazing; I can hear the thoughts of any other pack member who's changed form right now. There are only two others at the moment."

"But what's he doing here, wolf or otherwise?" I asked.

"Just keeping watch." Edward shrugged. "He wants to be as close as possible to EJ, and to be present if she should be in danger. He can't really help it." He glanced at Bella, and I recalled the days when Edward would follow Bella around, compelled to watch over her even against his own better judgment.

"Oh, brother!" Rosalie muttered. "I'm going back to our room. See you all in the morning." Emmett followed her with a quick wave goodnight.

"We may as well all retire for the night," Carlisle said. "We can't decide anything, it seems, until we've discussed this in more depth with the Quileutes, and especially with Jacob." He and Esme wished us a good night, and disappeared down the corridor.

"Good night, Bella," I said, giving her a kiss. "Don't sit around worrying about this all night."

"I won't," she assured me, and Jasper and I slipped out to our room as well.

"Well, this is an unexpected contingency," Jasper said drily.

"If we'd known to expect it, we wouldn't have come anywhere near Forks," I said. "But unfortunately, the werewolves are a blank to me." I looked up at him. "What's going to happen, Jazz? They're not hostile?"

"Not in the least. They were completely astonished at Jacob's imprinting, and unsure of what to do. They also felt just a little embarrassed."

"Why?"

"I couldn't say for certain; but I imagine having a member permanently bond himself to an eternal enemy would be considered a bit mortifying."

"I can see that." I sighed. "I wish I could have warned everyone."

"Not your fault, little darling," he said, putting his arms around me. "Let's not worry about this for now. We'll deal with it in the morning."

I snickered. "So Scarlett O'Hara!" But I was happy to put the problem aside.

The following morning, Bella whispered to us that she'd made child care arrangements with Rachel. "I don't want EJ hearing what we have to discuss," she said. "It's too much for a little girl. So Rachel's going to take her for a drive or something, and bring her back when I phone."

When we left the hotel at 6:40, Jacob was still outside. We couldn't see him, but could smell his presence as he followed us at a distance all the way to the meeting place. He finally showed himself when we arrived.

"Hello, Jacob," Edward said evenly. EJ looked at him in surprise. "Yes, that's Jacob. He has a special gift of his own. He can transform into a giant wolf."

"Transform," she repeated, and nodded. She walked fearlessly over to the big russet wolf. "Is that you, Jacob?"

The wolf raised his head up and down in a nod.

"That's really good!" She smiled up at the wolf face, and the wolf's muzzle opened in what looked almost like a grin.

The rest of the delegates arrived at that point, right on time. "Jake, I brought you some clothes," Seth told him, handing over jeans and a tee shirt, which the wolf took in his teeth and ran off with. "Hi, everybody," Seth called to us.

"Hello, Seth," Carlisle said. "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming."

Jacob reappeared from the trees, in human form and fully dressed except for his bare feet. "Hi," he said to the group at large. "Hi again, Elizabeth."

She grinned at him. "Everybody calls me EJ."

"Then I'll call you that, too."

The group was larger this time. The entire wolf pack and Rachel Black were there, plus Billy Black, Old Quil, and Sue Clearwater. Many of them were looking curiously at EJ, maybe because they'd never seen a half-and-half before, or maybe because they'd heard about Jacob's situation and wanted to check out the source of all the trouble.

Bella took EJ by the hand, saying casually, "Our friend Rachel's going to take you out again, and show you the town. Maybe the beach." She and Rachel strolled back toward the edge of the wood and spoke briefly. I heard Rachel's car start, and Bella returned alone. Jacob's eyes kept straying to the last place he'd seen EJ.

"You know why we're here," Sam began. "We have a kind of unusual situation."

"You can say that again," Rosalie said.

"I think you have a pretty good idea of what imprinting is, what's involved? How it affects the imprinted person?"

"Yes," Carlisle said, "I think we do. Edward was able to perceive it directly, from Jacob and from other pack members."

"Then you understand what Jacob is up against. This affects his whole life."

"We do understand that," Carlisle said, "but we haven't yet decided how to proceed."

"Then our role here is to act on Jacob's behalf, to defend him."

"We are no threat to Jacob, or to any of you," Carlisle protested.

"You could be, without intending it," Paul said. "He needs us as advocates, to make sure he isn't harmed."

Carlisle nodded. "I'm listening."

Sam said, "When we met last year, and you asked us to waive the treaty for Bella, you said we should understand why Edward had to be with Bella, because it is so much like our own experience when we imprint." He faced Edward. "You know what it's like for us. You can see it in our heads."

"Yes," Edward agreed.

"Then you know that if you separate Jacob from the one he's imprinted on, you'll destroy him."

"We have no wish to harm him, but I'm not sure what the solution is. We can't live with him on the reserve, and he certainly won't want to live with us. We have to go on with our lives at some point, and so does he."

"I know," Sam said, rubbing his forehead in a frustrated manner. "It's usually a lot simpler. A pack member imprints on someone, and he may have to arrange his life around being near her, but his life can still be more or less the same. Even Quil can still go to school, get a job, stuff like that, while he's waiting for Claire to grow up. Everybody's human, that's the point."

"So why did Jacob imprint on EJ?" Bella asked. "That's what I don't understand. She's not human, or not _only_ human. It seems like this shouldn't happen."

"That was our first reaction," Paul said. "Nobody could have expected it."

The one they called Old Quil spoke up from his familiar folding chair. "We've all talked about why one person is imprinted on and not another. Some of us think it's to keep the wolves alive - a pack member imprints on someone who will give him children who carry the ability to change to spirit wolves."

"That lets EJ out," Bella observed.

"Yes. Some thought it was to choose those who would keep the tribe unified."

"That doesn't work, either," Emmett said.

"Not unified, if we mean keeping strangers on the outside. But," Old Quil continued, in his gruff but weak voice, "the idea that imprinting would protect the tribe - that might work. In the past, our past as a people, taking in outsiders has strengthened us, saved us from enemies, or ended deadly conflicts."

"That's what you think is going on?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Uh huh." He paused to recover from a coughing spell. "Making an alliance with the Cold Ones last year, that let the pack survive a fight. Maybe we would have survived anyway," he said, as Paul shifted irritably, "but it didn't look so good at the time. Maybe imprinting is a way of guiding us to the one who will keep us strong, in ways that do not always make sense to us."

"_This_ sure doesn't make sense," one of the younger boys burst out. "I mean, she could kill him with one bite!"

"How do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

Sam gave the boy an annoyed glance. "The wolves aren't transformed by a vampire bite. It kills them."

"Interesting!" Carlisle's eyes lit up, as they always did from new data.

"Elizabeth is not venomous," Edward told Sam.

"She's not?"

"No. And she knows better than to bite any human."

"So that's what you think?" Sam asked Old Quil. "That this is a way to help the tribe, in some way we can't see?"

"I don't know what it is," the old man said. "I only know as much as you know. I know that, when the Spirit let some of us become spirit warriors to ward off...certain enemies, we were given other gifts as well. We could share our thoughts; we could stop aging as long as we needed to. All that was for our protection, to help our people, right?"

"Right," Sam agreed.

"The other thing that we were given was imprinting. All the other gifts, even if they were hard gifts, more like burdens sometimes, they were for our benefit. Why would imprinting be any different?"

"That makes sense," Sam agreed. "So...?"

"So the one we imprint on is not chosen by us. It must be given to us for our benefit as well. Even when the choice seems crazy, like right now."

"I don't see how matching up a pack member with a Cold One could ever help us," another boy objected.

Bella had been standing quietly, listening, until now. Suddenly she spoke up. "It's not to make the tribe stronger. It's to bring the Quileutes and the Cullens together."

The Quileute delegates stared at her quizzically. Her tone of voice was matter of fact, as it often was when she was using her gift. Her _second_ gift. It must have seemed strange to have her announce these things as if she had some infallible source.

"Like marrying a prince of one kingdom to a princess of another, in the old days," she went on. "I don't think the wolves can hurt anybody one of them has imprinted on, even if it's an enemy. It just makes sense that they couldn't."

The pack looked at each other, startled. "No, that's true," Sam said, watching Bella. "It's our most absolute law. We can't harm or threaten the imprint of another wolf. It would cause chaos if that were allowed to happen. It would destroy the pack."

Bella was nodding eagerly, too excited by her insights to notice the attention she was drawing. "We made an alliance before, when we were threatened by a common enemy. Jacob imprinting on someone from our family would make us allies for life - wouldn't it?"

"I suppose it would," Sam admitted. "But why would we need to be?"

"We would need it if another enemy threatened us both. We _will_ need it!"

"Why? What enemy do you think is going to threaten us?" Paul demanded.

Bella stopped short, her gift apparently running out of gas at that point. "I don't know," she said feebly.

Sam stared at her a moment. "Does Bella see the future now?" he asked Carlisle. "Like the little one?"

"The name's Alice, if you don't mind," I told him. "You don't hear me calling _you_ the big, bulky one, do you?"

Carlisle smiled. "No, she doesn't tell the future; but Bella does have a special talent. She can see the truth behind complex or confusing situations."

"Only it's kind of sporadic," Bella said.

"When it is in effect, her insight seems to be quite reliable," Carlisle said, "from what we've seen of it."

Several of the pack looked at Old Quil, who shrugged. "It makes as much sense as anything I can come up with," he said. "Maybe that is why this happened. If an enemy does threaten us, it would certainly work out the way she says."

We all paused to take this in. "But we still don't know what we're supposed to do about Jacob," Emmett said.

"What were you planning to do, before all this happened?" Paul asked.

"We were preparing to leave on a tour of Europe."

"Bella might be recognized in North America, at least in the near future," Edward explained, "so it seemed like a good time to travel. It would be educational for EJ, and Bella hasn't seen much of the world until now."

Jacob looked worried.

"This new circumstance, though, might force us to change our plans."

"We can't stay _here_," Rosalie said, "of all places!"

"No, that's out of the question," Carlisle agreed.

"Can't you find a place to live where Jake could be nearby?" Paul asked.

"I know it's messing up your...well, your whole life, basically," Sam added, "but consider what you'd be doing to Jacob if you don't. I know we've been enemies..."

"And we've since become allies," Carlisle said. "I understand the necessity of keeping Jacob nearby. We're just trying to work out the practical logistics."

"But it's not just a question of Jacob living nearby, is it?" Bella said. "It's as good as saying they're set up to get married as soon as EJ is old enough. I'm not willing to put my baby into an arranged marriage!"

"It's not exactly like that." Emily, the young woman with the ravaged face, spoke for the first time. "It's not _arranged_. Jacob would be nothing but the little girl's favourite babysitter, her friend, for as long as she's young; and when she's old enough, you can leave it up to her. She can decide if she wants Jake or not. If she doesn't, he'll go on being her friend. He'll never complain."

"That's it?" Bella asked.

"Well, not quite." Emily glanced shyly at Sam. "From what we've seen, there's virtually no chance she _won't_ choose Jacob. An imprinted partner is too perfect. Nobody could ever love her as completely, take as much interest in her, work as hard to make her happy. It's not an arranged marriage, because she'll have the choice; but she'll almost certainly choose Jacob over anyone else."

"She'll probably like him even now," Sue Clearwater said. "Bella, you saw little Claire with Quil. He was her favourite person. Being imprinted makes him be whatever she needs or wants."

"Kind of strange," I said, "but in a way, it's every parent's dream. Their child having a partner that was designed to be absolutely devoted to them and programmed to make them happy."

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Bella admitted.

Carlisle looked around at us. "We'll have to discuss this within the family," he told the pack. "It may be necessary to change our plans rather drastically. May I contact you again?"

"Sure," Sam said. "My number's still the same. I guess you won't have forgotten it, right?"

Carlisle grinned. "No, I remember. I also have Jacob's home number."

"I'll call Rachel and ask her to bring EJ back," Bella said.

"Can I stay, then?" Jacob asked eagerly. "And talk to her for a while?"

Bella sighed. "I guess so." She pulled out her cell phone and made the call.

The rest of the pack took their leave. "We'll be in touch," Sam told Carlisle as they ran off, leaving only Jacob. Bella glared at him.

"Bella, don't look so mad at me!" Jacob begged. "You know this isn't something I did deliberately, right?"

"That doesn't mean I have to like it."

"It's not like I'm a stranger. We were friends for years. Maybe you don't remember now, but we were."

"No, I remember."

We heard a vehicle pull over from the road, and a minute later Rachel walked EJ from her car back to our meeting place. "Everyone else gone?" Rachel asked.

"Wolf people," EJ said happily. "I like wolf people."

"Don't let it go to your head," Bella told Jacob. "She likes everybody."

"Hi, Jacob," EJ said, going to him.

"Hi," he said, returning her smile. "Did you have fun with Rachel?"

"Yes. She says she's your sister."

"That's right."

"EJ says she wants to see the ocean," Rachel told us. "If you have time while you're here."

Bella shook her head. "I wouldn't mind, but none of us can be seen on a beach. We're not supposed to be here."

"Maybe I could take her," Rachel offered. "You could even stay nearby, in the woods, if you want. It's too cold for swimming, but we could just take a walk along the shore." She smiled over at EJ, charmed by her the way everyone was.

We looked at Carlisle. "Perhaps we should all go. We can talk while EJ is on the beach."

"Okay. Thanks, Rachel," Bella said, smiling at her friend.

"You don't mind if I go along?" Jacob said.

"Sure," Bella said shortly.

"Not First Beach," Edward warned. "We have to be able to reach her if we need to."

"No," Rachel agreed. She named a secluded beach where the forest came fairly close to the water. She drove there while we ran, and met near the edge of the trees.

"No swimming, EJ," Bella warned. "Not today. We'll be right nearby."

"Okay." EJ slipped her hand into Jacob's and walked with him and Rachel to the shoreline.

"Rachel was right," Bella sighed. "She already likes him."

"What on earth are we going to do with him?" Esme asked.

"We can't simply leave him behind," Edward said. "It would be unimaginably cruel."

"What, then?" Rosalie asked. "Let him follow us around, this giant wolf sleeping outside our house every night?"

"It's a bizarre situation," Carlisle admitted. "It calls for creativity."

Bella was watching Jacob cavort on the beach, making EJ laugh. "Just like Quil," she said to herself.

"Alice may be right," Edward told her. "There are worse things than an utterly loyal, completely devoted partner." She gave him a sideways smile, and he grinned.

"I can't believe you don't have a problem with this!"

"It may be easier for me to accept. I can see both EJ's and Jacob's experience of the situation, and that of other imprinted pack members. Jacob's complete dedication to her well being meets with my approval."

Bella looked around. "Is everyone else going along with it?"

We all looked at each other. Nobody seemed willing to be first to take a stand.

EJ's joyful laughter rang through the air, mingling with the sound of crashing waves.


	19. The Journey Continues

"We can't just let him stay out there all night!" Esme peered out the hotel window at the shadowy figure of a gigantic wolf, lying in the unmown grass and weeds beyond the periphery of the hotel property.

"He did it last night," Rosalie pointed out.

"It's very inhospitable," Esme fretted. "Even if he appears as a wild animal, he's someone we know, and we've agreed to let him be connected with the family."

"What would you suggest?" Rose asked.

"Could we get another room for Jacob?" Esme looked at Carlisle.

"That seems reasonable." Carlisle joined Esme at the window. "Now that the decision has been made, we have to begin taking steps to include Jacob. He's going to be part of our lives, presumably forever."

"But the _smell_!" Rosalie protested.

"We'll get used to it," Esme said firmly.

Carlisle gathered a few items and went outside to where Jacob lurked, and a few minutes later they both returned, Jacob in shorts and a tee shirt, and a pair of Emmett's shoes; Carlisle carrying a room card. "He'll be down the hall," Carlisle explained, "next to our room."

"Great," Rosalie muttered.

"Thanks, you guys," Jacob said, looking uncomfortable. "Sorry for the trouble."

"It's no trouble, Jacob," Esme assured him with a smile. "Make yourself comfortable."

He raised a hand in an awkward goodbye and disappeared down the corridor.

"We need to come to some conclusion about how we're going to manage this," Carlisle said. "We shouldn't stay in the area any longer than we have to."

"Would Jacob be willing to relocate along with us?" Esme wondered aloud. "I imagine he'll be reluctant to leave his friends and family behind."

"Yes, he'd be willing," Edward said. "I'm certain of it. He'd follow EJ to the ends of the earth. If she's with us, he will be, too. And he'll be perfectly happy to be there."

"That makes it easier on us," Bella said, "but it kind of sucks for Jake."

"We'll do our best not to take advantage," Esme said.

"Of course," Carlisle agreed. "Let's consider this in more detail. How much do we actually have to change our plans?"

We talked about it, and came to some surprisingly simple conclusions.

The next morning, Edward knocked on Jacob's door and asked him to join us in Bella and Edward's suite. At Esme's insistence, we had breakfast laid out for him on a table in the corner. "Jacob, I'm sure you're hungry," Esme said, waving him toward a chair.

"Oh, hey, you didn't have to do that." He stood where he was.

"It's our pleasure. Please." Esme smiled at him, and he relented and sat down. He ate neatly enough, but with a kind of ruthless efficiency.

He left off when EJ came into the room. "Jacob! Hi!"

"Hey! Good morning!" He lit up like a Christmas tree at the sight of her. I admit, it was kind of sweet.

"Good morning." She sat down on the chair opposite him and swung her feet, which only reached halfway to the floor. "Are you staying with us?"

"For now, I guess," he said, looking at us uncertainly.

"That's good."

"Um, want some breakfast?" He looked at Bella. "Is it okay?"

"If she's willing to eat it, sure."

I watched the two of them as they shared eggs, toast, and fruit. Jacob was just as focused on EJ as ever, but he'd lost that shaken, intense look he'd had at first. It wasn't so creepy any more. They seemed companionable, as close as the closest friends or siblings. It wasn't just Jacob; EJ clearly counted Jacob as one of her favourite people.

"Jacob, after you've finished, we were hoping you could arrange for one more meeting with your pack," Carlisle said. "We'd like to go over our plans with you, and it might be better if they were present. I want them to have no misgivings about your place with us."

"Sure," Jacob said. "Actually, I didn't know for sure if I_ had _a place with you. You talked about it a little, but it wasn't officially decided."

"It is now," Carlisle said, "provided you agree."

"I just…want to be where she is," he said, shrugging helplessly. I felt a little sorry for him. He'd completely lost control of his own life, without doing anything to cause it. "But where will that be?"

"Let's save all that for the meeting, if you don't mind," Carlisle said. "We'll leave you to finish your breakfast in peace."

EJ was much more willing to eat human food with Jacob than she normally was with any of us. Maybe because they were actually eating together. It occurred to me that Jacob filled a niche for EJ that none of us could. Like all of us, he was indestructible and never aged; but he also, like her, ate and slept, produced body heat and had a heartbeat. I saw Edward watching me, taking in my observations.

Afterward, Jacob phoned Sam and requested one more meeting, and was told to be at yesterday's location in an hour.

"Jacob, if I may ask," Edward said, "are you still in high school? I heard you had refused to attend."

"For a little while, when I was going through a bad patch. I went back, and graduated with my class a few months ago. Rachel talked me into it."

"Were you planning to attend college?"

"I'd like to, eventually, but I probably can't afford it. My dad's been saving up for tuition, and I have a part time job, but that doesn't go very far. My backup plan is mechanic's school. But then," he said, recollecting himself, "all that's kind of changed now."

Edward didn't reply. We left the hotel together and proceeded to our usual spot. This time the pack arrived first.

"Good morning," Carlisle said to them all. He looked at Billy Black, whose wheelchair was set on a patch of level ground next to Sam. "Mr. Black, I'm glad you're here. We want to discuss Jacob's future with us; although he's an adult, he's young and hasn't been on his own before, and your input would certainly be appropriate." He addressed the others. "We also wanted the rest of you to be present, and to point out any flaws in our plans. We hope to make Jacob's life with our family as comfortable as possible."

Billy nodded once. His expression was bleak. "I assume you'll be moving out of the area."

"I'm afraid that's unavoidable. We'll do our best to make sure he is able to visit, of course."

"Where are you moving to, then? Alaska again?"

"No. In fact, we've decided that we may as well carry on with our original plans. As I told the others yesterday, we'd planned to travel extensively over the next year or two. Initially, we'd meant to stop here long enough for Elizabeth to meet her grandfather, then arrange a flight to London almost immediately afterward. As you know, fate intervened."

"That's one way of putting it," Emmett remarked.

"Staying here is impossible, because of the presence of Chief Swan, and because we're recognized here. We would have to remain perpetually in hiding. Finally, we realized that there is no good reason we could not go ahead with our trip. We would simply bring Jacob along with us."

"You're going to bring Jacob along on a trip through Europe?" Billy asked incredulously.

"That's our proposal," Carlisle said.

"But what would he do there?" Billy asked. "How would he support himself?"

"We would be happy to sponsor his trip," Carlisle said, avoiding terms like 'paying his way' with his usual diplomacy. "And his education as well, if that is acceptable. For our Bella, we saw this trip as a precursor to attending college for the first time. It could be the same for Jacob."

"You're offering to put him through college?" Paul exclaimed. He seemed a little shocked.

"Jacob was one of the allies who helped our family survive when we were under attack," Carlisle explained. "We owe him an immense debt, as we do all of you. Now, through no fault of his own, he is obligated to separate from his friends and the life he is familiar with, and remain attached to us. We don't have the ability to give him back his autonomy; but we do have the resources to provide him with a home, an education, and a chance to see the world. We are more than happy to do so."

"So he'll be taken care of?" Billy seemed to perk up a little. "You'll see he goes to school, has a decent place to live?"

"Certainly. We'll see he wants for nothing."

"Guys, this is amazing," Jacob said. "Are you sure you want to take this on?"

"Don't argue with them," Billy advised.

Edward smiled. "Listen to your father. I know all you want is to be near _her_, but there's no reason you should give up everything else in the process."

"It's a relief," Billy said. "I pictured him following you around, living outdoors as a wolf."

"That won't happen," Edward assured him.

"After our period of travel," Carlisle went on, "we had tentative plans to settle back in North America, although likely not too near Washington at first. We're still trying to choose the site of our next home. We would attend college there. Jacob could study, and follow any other pursuits he likes. Unfortunately, he could never settle in one place for long. We have to move frequently, as I'm sure you realize."

Billy sighed. "You say he can come back to visit?"

"I see no reason why not, provided you maintain an appropriate cover story for Chief Swan and the community. And eventually, once we relocate back on this continent, visits will be simpler."

"When were you planning to leave?" Rachel asked.

"As soon as Jacob can make the necessary preparations, and we can arrange a flight." He looked around at the pack members and their friends. "Do you have any concerns about this arrangement?"

Several shook their heads, and a couple snorted in amusement. "No," Sam said. "This is more than any of us really expected from you. A lot more."

"Thanks," Billy said gruffly.

"We're happy to make Jacob's situation less of a burden to him," Carlisle said. "We'll say goodbye for now, and make our travel preparations. I'm sure you'll see Jacob again before he leaves."

They said goodbye, most of them rather stiffly - we were still enemies, underneath it all. Billy Black shook Carlisle's hand, though.

"Bye, Rachel," Bella said, running over to hug her friend, remembering to be gentle. "Thanks for the book ideas."

Rachel hugged her back. "Thank _you_ for the Eudora Welty. I'll think of you when I read it."

"Keep in touch."

Rachel returned her smile. "I will."

We returned to the hotel, taking EJ but leaving Jacob behind to return home with his father, and pack for the flight. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be away from us long.

"One thing is called for before we leave," I said. "I should take Jacob shopping. He doesn't seem to own anything except athletic wear." And he probably went through them fast. Apparently turning into an unnaturally large wolf was hard on garments.

"Alice, you can't go shopping; not in this area," Esme told me.

"Well, I guess not. But he needs something for the trip."

"Wait until we arrive in London," Rose said. "You can get him everything he needs, without having to sneak around."

I agreed, but I stopped in the hotel gift shop when we got back, and bought a men's black knit shirt in extra large. We still had to sit with him on the plane, after all, and I couldn't imagine looking at a frayed Mariners' tee shirt for eight hours straight.

As predicted, Jacob turned up an hour later. Edward made his day by suggesting he take EJ for a walk before bedtime. Bella looked alarmed, but agreed to the outing. EJ was perfectly happy to go strolling with Jacob; they walked off together, hand in hand.

"She's safer with Jacob than she is likely to be with anyone else, love," Edward told Bella.

"I believe you. It's just hard to get used to."

"So he's going to college with us, once we settle again?" Emmett asked.

"It seems so," Carlisle said.

"He _was_ going to go to mechanics' school," Rosalie pointed out.

"Because he was poor, not because he's incapable. He seems like a bright young man," Carlisle said. "I'm sure he'll appreciate a chance to improve himself."

"What's his cover story?" Jasper said. "That's the tricky part."

"Why couldn't he be another adopted child?" Esme asked. "It's not as if interracial adoption was unheard of."

"No, he looks too old," Jasper objected. "He couldn't pass for less than early twenties." It was true; the size and the muscles that went with werewolfdom made everyone in the pack look very adult, even the boys in their mid teens.

"Well, what are the possibilities?" Jasper asked rhetorically. "It would have to be something that explains why he's living with us. He could be a relative - an in-law, maybe, or relative by adoption - that we took in because his parents died, and are providing a home for, and paying his way through college. I guess he looks young enough for college."

"That works," Emmett agreed.

"Eventually," Edward said wistfully, "I suppose he will be a genuine part of our family, as our daughter's husband."

"That's not for sure!" Bella objected.

"No, but it's likely. We should be prepared for the possibility, at least."

Bella sighed. "I shouldn't have to think about this while she's still so young."

"She won't be young very long," Edward gently reminded her. "Only four or five more years, and she'll be fully adult."

"And ready to marry, I assume," I said. Bella glared at me. "Sorry, but it's the truth!"

"One good thing about EJ, theoretically, marrying Jacob," Emmett said. "He won't age any more than she will. That's how it works, right? As long as he turns werewolf on a regular basis, he stays the same age?"

"So I understand," Carlisle said.

"Well then. What would her other choices be? A human, who'll die on her in a few years; or a vampire, who would have to be converted to vegetarianism or else cause a lot of family conflicts."

"Or another hybrid," Jasper added. "If any more even exist."

"You're right, she doesn't have a lot of options," I agreed. "Maybe this is the best thing that could have happened to the girl, all things considered."

"It's all true," Rosalie said, "but I wish it didn't have to be a werewolf." She held her nose.

"So do I," Bella agreed.

"But you were Jacob's friend for years, weren't you?" Esme asked her. "You must see him as more than just a werewolf. What did you think of him when he was human?"

Bella frowned, trying to remember. "Yeah, I knew him. Mostly when we were little kids, but I also knew him a little bit when I first came to live with Charlie. He was nice," she said grudgingly. "Kind of a smart aleck, but a good guy, generally."

"Maybe you should try to revive the friendship," Edward suggested, "under the circumstances."

"Maybe."

EJ ran into the room, Jacob right behind her. "We saw an owl!" she reported to Bella. "It was just going out to hunt. They hunt mice, Jacob says."

Bella looked up suddenly. "I remember Jacob and me finding an owl once, when we were both ten or eleven." She turned to Jacob. "I was just remembering the summers I came to Forks, and we used to hang out."

Jacob grinned happily. "Yeah. We had some good times." He laughed. "Dad always had to make sure he had bandages in the house when you came over. You never left the rez without a scraped knee, at the very least."

Bella made a face at him. "That was before. I never trip or fall any more."

"Or walk into things?" Jacob asked, smiling broadly. "Or drop stuff on your foot? Or…?"

"I'll thank you not to rake up the past!" she said with mock dignity, and they both laughed. A truce, at least, seemed to be in place.

We decided to go for one last hunt before leaving. As Carlisle reminded us, there would be less prey available in Europe, especially in large urban centres like London. We were going to split up, as usual, leaving some of us behind with EJ, but Jacob offered to take charge of her.

Bella and Edward looked at each other. "What do you think?" Bella asked.

"I'm sure she'll be safe," he said, "but I don't know if Jacob is ready to see her hunt."

"She hunts animals, like you guys?" Jacob asked.

"Yes. Small ones only, at the moment."

"That's okay. I could help her, maybe."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "There was a time when you found the very thought of it repulsive."

Jacob shrugged. "Yeah, well. It's not that different from eating meat, right?"

Edward turned to EJ. "Would you like Jacob to go hunting with you?" None of us were surprised that she was delighted with the idea.

"Don't take her too far away from us," Bella warned.

We headed for an area of forest that lacked trails or campgrounds, and therefore humans. Jacob went behind a tree to remove his clothing, and returned in wolf form, letting EJ ride on his back. As it turned out, EJ loved hunting with Jacob. She played happily, and even showed off for him a little, demonstrating how fast she could run, how high she could jump. Jacob was duly impressed.

Edward, finished with the deer he'd taken, sat down next to Jazz and me. "I can hear the wolves," he said quietly.

"Hear them?" Jasper asked.

"Their thoughts. Jacob's part of the group mind when he's in wolf form."

"You told us that. What are they saying to him?"

"There are only two others, Quil and Embry. Quil's teasing him about imprinting on another two year old. They're making wisecracks about joining in our hunt. And...they're saying they're happy for him, but will miss him."

"So he'll never be completely alone," I observed, "no matter how far away we go."

"That's true. He'll always be able to speak with his friends. At least, those few who continue to change form."

EJ ran back to Edward, excited about the deer she'd caught - with a lot of tactful assistance from Jacob. "I saw," Edward told her, smiling. "Well done."

"Jacob helped," she admitted.

"Thank you, Jacob."

"Can I go for another ride?" she asked, indicating Jacob, her trusty steed.

"Yes, that's fine. Not too far." She ran off and leapt onto the Jacob-wolf's back, and he loped off.

Bella arrived, her clothing torn and bloody, and sat down beside Edward. "Deer," she said resignedly. "And apparently it'll be mostly deer in Europe."

"Mostly," Edward agreed.

"I'm surprised Jacob agreed to the hunting so quickly. He always thought it was horrible."

"It's part of EJ's nature, so he thinks it's fine." He turned to her. "I was hearing the thoughts Jacob was sharing with other pack members. I realize that he really will be happy in his new circumstances. He has to be, because EJ's happiness is central to his own; and because his being unhappy or dissatisfied would have a negative impact on her."

"That's almost too selfless," Bella said. "Forcing yourself to act happy so nobody else will be disappointed? It's kind of pitiful."

"It's not like that," Edward said decisively. "It's not that he's forcing himself to be happy for her sake. It's genuine. If he can be with EJ, and make her life better, he's sincerely delighted to be removed from his home, overjoyed to be living with vampires, thrilled to be taken on shopping sprees by Alice."

"I'm not sure that last item really belongs," I told him, and he laughed.

"So he's not acting happy, he really is happy?" Bella asked.

"Exactly."

"_Can_ he be unhappy? Is he still capable of personal likes and dislikes?" I asked. "What you're describing sounds like a zombie."

"You can see he's not that. Yes, he can have genuine dislikes, especially if they don't conflict with EJ's needs. But his whole existence orbits around her. Any dissatisfaction with the details of his life is like...like someone would feel about having to walk two blocks in the rain to pick up a million dollar inheritance. So inconsequential, it isn't worth thinking about."

Bella looked concerned. "Poor Jacob."

Edward looked at her. "Why? I just explained that he's truly happy."

"I know, but he's so completely boxed in. We have to make sure he still has choices in his life."

"We can do that," Edward agreed. "Carlisle is determined not to let him be limited by his circumstances. And so am I. We can at least treat him justly."

Carlisle and Esme approached and took places near us, and Rose and Emmett followed a moment later. "Deer," Emmett growled.

"We were just talking about Jacob and his place in the family," Edward said.

"I thought that was all worked out," Rosalie said.

"The practical details are worked out," Carlisle said, "but I'm not sure we're all in full support of the plan."

"I think we all have some reservations," Rosalie said.

"Would anyone like to address some of those?" Carlisle said.

There was a silence. Edward smiled slightly. "I don't think it's anything that can be put into words. There's some...reluctance to fully embrace anything this odd, especially when we have no idea where it will lead."

"I think that sums it up," Jasper agreed.

"Very well," Carlisle said. Something in his voice caught my attention. He seemed to take on an air of authority we almost never saw in him; we all sat up straighter. "In the absence of any real consensus, I'm willing to assert my own viewpoint. I agree with Old Quil that this is an act of benevolent Providence. I believe this strange set of circumstances has been given to us for a reason. I honestly believe we should not only tolerate it, but accept it wholeheartedly, and adapt."

But it's all so weird!" Rosalie said.

"It's certainly unlikely in the extreme," Jasper said, "but you could say that about a lot of the things that have happened to this family in the last century, good and bad. Especially in the last two years. Our family is a statistical anomaly."

"That's partly why I feel so confident in accepting this situation," Carlisle said. "Whenever we were faced with a particularly challenging or difficult change, the results were a tremendous blessing."

I found myself nodding. "You're right. Jasper and me coming into the family; Edward finding Bella; EJ's appearance - they were all pretty scary at first; they seemed like bad things. But look how they turned out!"

"I believe we should trust in what fate, or the Spirit, or Providence - or the universe which has made our existence a realm of statistical anomaly - is offering us." Carlisle looked around at us, not exerting his authority, but asking us to accept his conclusion on faith. If not faith in his view of destiny, then at least faith in Carlisle himself.

"I agree," Edward said, squeezing Bella's hand apologetically.

Rosalie shrugged. "I don't like it, but I have to allow that I may not be the best judge. I didn't like Bella joining us at first, either, and obviously I was very wrong about that."

"I agree with Carlisle," Esme said. "Difficult as it might be, I think we're being offered something important. If Bella and Edward can accept it, I think we should embrace this odd act of fate."

"I'm on board," Emmett agreed, and Jasper nodded solemnly.

We all looked at Bella, the final holdout. "Can you accept this, Bella?" Carlisle asked. "You were the one who saw that this may ultimately protect our family, as well as Jacob's people."

"I know," she said. "It's a little different when you're the _mother_ of the princess who's being used to form an alliance."

"An alliance with a prince who loves her perfectly and beyond measure, whose central goal in life is her happiness." Edward reminded her.

"Yes." She got that dreamy look on her face again. "And she'll want to stay with us, even when she's grown; so even if she marries Jacob, we'll always be together."

"How do you know _that_?" Rosalie asked.

The flash of insight seemed to dissipate; she looked sheepish. "I don't know. But I'm sure it's true." We waited. "Okay. I agree. Jacob's part of the family. No reservations. I hope you're right about this, Carlisle."

* * *

"We have a flight leaving at four tomorrow afternoon," Edward told Jacob. "Will you be ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"You're packed?" I asked him.

"Yeah. You said carry-on only, so I brought my school backpack." He held it up. It looked very much like a school backpack. New luggage went on the list for our London shopping trip.

"Mind if I look?" I held my hand out.

"Uh, no, I guess not." He handed over the well worn black nylon pack.

Inside were two pairs of jeans, six tee shirts, and a collection of socks and underwear, each rolled into bolster shapes. Also a toothbrush, hairbrush and other personal items, and what seemed to be a small photo album. "This is for the flight," I said, handing him the black shirt.

"You didn't have to...well, thanks," he said awkwardly.

"We're all going to get new clothes when we get to London. You too."

"If you don't mind, that is, Jacob," Esme added.

"I don't really have any spare cash for shopping," he said, looking uneasy. "I'd better stick with what I have."

"You do have money. Weren't you listening? You're part of the family now."

"Yeah, and thanks, but I can't take…"

"Don't start that," Rosalie snapped. "You can't stay with us and pass as a family member unless you maintain appearances. That takes money. We have unlimited funds, so don't even think about it."

"We had lots of time to build up a fortune," Emmett explained, from the corner where he was flipping through the television stations. "plus Alice sees what stocks are going to do ahead of time. Money's kind of a non-issue."

"Okay." Jacob seemed to waver.

"We'll arrange for you to have your own credit card, once Jasper's finished with your paperwork," Carlisle told him.

"Paperwork?"

"New ID, new passport, new birth certificate," I explained. "You weren't around when we were picking names, so you'll have to take potluck. Bella thought you should be Jacob Wolfe."

"The documents should be ready tomorrow morning," Jasper said. "I have to drop in on Jenks before we head for the airport."

"This is getting complicated," Jacob said.

"Let us keep track of it all for now," Carlisle said. "Just remember your new name. Everything else will be taken care of."

"Okay." He hesitated. "Will I be able to work once we're away? Just a part time job, maybe?"

"We already told you, we have you covered," Rosalie said.

"No, not for me. I'm leaving Dad here on his own. Rachel will be around, but she shouldn't have to take on the whole responsibility herself. If he needs his wheelchair fixed or replaced, or if the house has to be repaired…"

"Very thoughtless of us," Carlisle said. "Of course, since we're depriving Billy of the assistance of his only son, the very least we can do is see he's provided for materially. Emmett, can we set up a fund for the purpose?"

"On it," Emmett said, his eyes still on the TV screen.

"Is that Quantum Leap?" I asked, standing behind Emmett. "I used to like that show."

"Me too," Jacob said. I looked back at him. "Billy used to watch the reruns."

"I think this is the one where he went to Mississippi." I sat cross legged on the bed to watch

Emmett shifted over in his seat. "Come on. It's just starting." Jacob looked over at EJ. "She's getting ready for bed."

Jacob sat down next to Emmett. "I'll run back in the morning and say goodbye to Dad and Rachel one more time," he said, "and the guys."

"Certainly," Esme said. "I hope you won't be too homesick."

"Actually, I think I'll be okay," he said, with surprising decisiveness. He mostly watched the show with us, although his attention was frequently drawn by EJ, who was curled up next to Bella, hearing her bedtime story.

"So Jacob," Emmett asked, throwing a chummy arm around his shoulders, "you ever do any gambling?"

* * *

~THE END~


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